How many activities do your children do

[Beavers9]

I'm always questioned about what do the kids do. For school clubs activities ect Apparently we don't do enough (we do scouts and cubs so that's 2 evenings a week) but honestly how are you meant to fit them all in I don't have access to a car untill the husband returns home from work around 4.30 and we also have a very young energetic dog that needs an evening walk . I finish work at 3.30 my self

Between my lot we at one point had football, gymnastics, swimming, youth club and boxing. We were never home. Not all children did all activities but they had to come regardless.
We've now dropped the boxing and gym and just go swimming as a family instead of lessons. Its made a massive difference and everything is much more relaxed.
They sit and draw of evenings, help me garden and cook and take their bikes out. Because we not always dashing from one club to the next. And financially its nicer! 😆

Most people seem to do loads or nothing, and my DC have fallen into both those camps at points. Now they do 1 paid activity a week, and then sometimes something else offered free or cheap through the school or in the local community. It's too much otherwise. They need some evenings playing in the park or garden, watching TV, playing games etc. I don't believe in over scheduling them, but can see the effect of under scheduling as well in the kids who hang about getting into trouble because they're bored and lack direction.

DS (5, Reception) goes has extracurricular activities at school 3 times a week. Then we take him to piano, swimming and another sport. We are considering Beavers for next year.

The only thing ours ever stuck at in primary was rainbows/brownies, and I used to wonder how other people got their kids to do so much.

Now in secondary they have (between 2) guides, flute/wind band, drumming, aerial hoop, percussion, singing/choir, art class. We have something on every evening Mon-Thurs and I hanker for the days when it was just one evening!

Do what’s right for your DC/what you can fit in.

8yo dd does - rugby, football ×3, kickboxing×2, and drum lessons every week, so it's pretty much daily for her.

7yo dd does piano lessons and has a running club, that's all she wants to do.

All within walking distance thankfully.

Really, don't feel bad. My dc did swimming plus one sport for a while. Then one did scouts for a while. Youngest dc is doing none currently but spends time doing some school clubs and has done Saturday morning clubs at the library.

DD (13)
Monday: gym. Bus home
Tuesday: Rowing. This involves one of us sitting for a few hours as too far drive back while she's out. In the summer we go to the beach while waiting.
Wednesday: gym
Thursday: rowing, as above
Friday: free. Sometimes gym
Saturday/Sunday: normally rowing in the morning.

Some weeks when training for a specific event every week night will be on the water.

DS (11)
Monday: scouts
Tuesday: free (starting golf soon)
Wednesday: piano lesson and badminton
Thursday: tennis
Friday: free
Weekends, normally plays badminton with DH.
Apart from scouts these are school clubs so done straight after.

DS (6)
Wednesday: gymnastics
Thursday: beavers
Friday: cricket starting soon
Saturday: swimming lessons

DD (age 9) does

Violin (at school)
Art class (one evening)
Dance class and swimming class (weekends)

She is in after school club two days a week as well.

All she wants to do at home recently is play computer games or watch YouTube, so the activities are good for her as they get her out of the house!

As we only have one child and most of the activities are in walking/ public transport distance, the logistics aren’t difficult for us. I can see it would be harder with more than one child/ having to drive across town etc.

Too many.

Dc1 (9) does kickboxing, swimming, mixed sports straight after school one night a week, drama, football training x2 and a football match.

Dc2 (5) does Beavers, Rainbows, drama, 2 types of dance and swimming.

Keeping track of everything is a massive pain and effectively even before we add in our own hobbies, someone is doing something extra curricular every day of the week.

However, they seem to still fit in plenty of time with their friends/decompression time chilling in their rooms and are thriving at school so we are continuing to faciliate.

Equally they have friends who dont do anything so I think its so individual.

Dd16 army cadets on a Monday and Wednesday evening. (Though currently stepped away while sitting GCSEs)

Dd10 does guides on a Thursday

Ds7 does beavers on a Tuesday

Dd4 is the only one who doesnt do a club. But waiting to start rainbows.

Both of mine have swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. DS9 goes to counselling on Wednesday afternoons and DS6 goes to Beavers at the same time.

They go to after school club twice a week and if they wanted to do more activities then I would make it work but I'm single and work mostly full time so logistically it's difficult. The only reason Wednesdays work is because my mum helps. But mine don't want to do too much anyway, they like being at home and DS9 in particular needs the downtime. I don't think programming children's schedules to the minute does them any favours to be honest. I prioritise swimming for obvious reasons.

11 year old:
Monday - triathlon
Tuesday - guitar
Wednesday - hockey
Thursday - Scouts
Saturday - swimming/ riding
Sunday - hockey matches (winter)

8 year old:
Tuesday - keyboard & cubs
Saturday - swimming & riding

older one loves clubs. Younger one is less keen.

Quite a few. We have one day without any activities. We have two days with three activities and for the other days it’s just one activity.

They naturally drop off or become more involved as they get older.

I think not doing any, if you can afford them, is doing is a disservice to kids to be honest. How will they know what they like unless given the opportunity to try loads and choose their favourites.

Dd11 does scouts and she often goes climbing/bouldering as that's her sport, but it's not every week in like an official organised thing. It's like when we can take her.

Ds6 doesn't do anything, but will start cubs next year.

They otherwise spend a lot of time outside, with friends, doing farm chores in afternoons/weekends. We do lots of active things as a family, like cycling, hiking, swimming, but not in like an after school activity sort of way. Anything they have an interest in, we organise for them though, but there aren't a lot of organised activities of that sort around here.

9 year old (Y4):
Mon - French (after school) (walking distance)
Tue - nothing we pay for, currently doing school athletics club after school
Wed - singing in iRock band (at school, during school day), swimming (after school) (drive)
Thursday - choir (at school, before school) piano (at school, during school day), ballet, tap and street dance (at school, after school), Brownies (walking distance)
Friday - nothing
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - ice skating (drive)

She is asking to do musical theatre on Saturdays (!) We think she needs the down time though. For a few months this year she had extra dance class on Saturdays as she was in a show.

We are lucky we only have one child and both wfh so are flexible. Most activities are in walking distance or at school.

DD 13 does cheerleading and trains between 3-4 times a week. She also does athletics and dance at school but that is during school hours.

DD 8 does Ballet Monday, Drama at school on a Wednesday (she'd be at school anyway as goes to wraparound care), Cheerleading Friday, swimming and tap on a Saturday.

They both choose to do their activities and they are happy with what they do. I would encourage them to do something active if they weren't already.

DTs are in secondary now, during the week they have riding on Tuesdays, skate club Thursdays (at school), Youth Club on Fridays (switched from Guides as the unit closed), all day Saturday and Sunday - horses.

Don't need swimming lessons anymore (I used to hate that on a Saturday), tried ballet, gymnastics, football and then found horses and that's their thing. Did Rainbows / Brownies and would have stayed at Guides if it hadn't closed.

9 yo: piano, cricket and jiu jitsu
6 yo: beavers and swimming lessons
2 yo: nothing regularly scheduled

No school clubs this term for once! Middle child has asked to go back to Stagecoach but it’s £££!

My DD did netball, piano and brownies. My son did so much sport with school (every weekend) but also drums, rugby and rowing depending on the season.
They didn't get out of school til 4.30 didn't really leave much time for an activity plus homework/supper/down time.

My daughter does horse riding. She used to ride somewhere 2-3 nights a week and she went to brownies. We now own a horse so she doesn't do any activities outside her horse.