Best / most valuable hobby your DD did?

[Onionringsforbreakfast]

DD is 7

She’s been into gymnastics but suddenly decided she wants to quit.

TBH I’m ok about it, I get the impression gymnastics either means join the squad/competition team and dedicate your life to it (no thanks) or you’re just the weekly hour lesson fodder who does your lesson weekly until you get bored.

Her new thing is horse riding. I feel a bit more supportive of this. I rode and as an older kid / teen spent hours at the stables helping out and loved it. I never had own horse or competed but riding gave me so much.

What’s the best hobby your DD has / had from a social/emotional / personal perspective?

My nearly 9 year old loves going to Cubs. She’s made new friends and had so many experiences through it. I know as she gets older it’ll be even better with opportunities for travel etc

Indoor/sport climbing & bouldering.

Lots of responsibility & team work but also loads of chat time & fun.

Scouts. In fact that goes for all my kids.

it does vary by group but at ours they do a huge variation of activity and learn a wide range of skills. They gain confidence in themselves.

DD is 17 and is currently at reading festival. She was the only one oit of her friends who could pitch a tent (and do it so it doesnt fall down after a night!), helped them plan thier meals to cook on a stove, only one that packed every thing in a big hiking rucksack instead of having to haul a heavy hold all. She knows first aid and how to find her way around.

Dd swimming and girl guiding (did try scouting but was too boisterous for her). Both gave skills and confidence.

I have a DS but I think every kid should have swimming lessons and learn the piano. Cubs/brownies are great too but very difficult to get into round here.

Brownies and Guides learnt a lot of practical life skills probably as much as at school

Dance. She didn't want to do any hobbies at all until she was about 6, then She dabbled in gymnastics and is v flexible. Then discovered dance about 4 years ago. They're a bit crap as a group, but that means she gets be one of the good ones which has been great for her confidence. They do shows and all that stuff. She's got friends through it and she wants to do it for gcse now. It keeps her busy and the other girls are v sweet.

My other one did beavers- explorers. But he's still an anti social bugger, so it doesn't work miracles. He will walk for miles though.

DS not DD, but definitely swimming - opens the door to so many other water-related activities (snorkelling, scuba, water polo, actual diving, paddle boarding, sailing, surfing. Plus just enjoying a good pool/beach).

Rugby has been surprisingly good too - DS is tiny and really not somebody you would imagine to be a rugby player, but it’s a really supportive environment, has something for everyone, and working as part of a team has just been brilliant for him.

DD did Brownies / Guides then Rangers
DS did Beavers / Cubs then Scouts
DS also did rugby and St John’s ambulance and volunteering at the local library (14-15)

DD also did dance (from ages of 3 to 16) and gymnastics (4-6)

I saw each extra curricular as as important as a GCSE - and it helped them in so many ways: different friendship groups / trying out new experiences / being with adults etc etc

If I HAD to choose one I’d say the scout movement.

Dancing because it was in a different area & provided a whole extra friendship group for them and me. Not a cheap hobby but they kept it up until early teens.
Also Rainbows, Brownies & Guides. DH has always worked shifts including weekends so Friday night Brownies & Saturday Dancing were fab for mine.

Netball. She still plays aged 17. It's been brilliant for fitness, socially (nice to have a set of friends outside school) and financially. She's now a qualified umpire and level 1 coach, so she earns money every week coaching the younger girls at her club and umpiring matches.

Riding and Drama

Riding was great for her, she was then undiagnosed ASD/ADHD and the horses worked wonders, she was calm, concentrated and the weekends/holiday working really suited her. Very expensive though.

Drama - totally her thing, she loved it and also did it for GCSE and A-level plus moved to a amateuer group as a teen and performed regularly.

She also enjoyed Scouts, Brownies less so, but the Scouts taught her independence and teamwork. She moved to a young leader and volunteered four years with the Beavers, only stopped as she is now at uni.

Gymnastic and dance - so lala, I think she just wasn't talented enough and was getting bored with not enough attention from the teacher who mainly focused on the ones who went into squads/performing.

I was going to answer horse riding just from the title. It’s amazing seeing them progress and the joy and confidence that brings. Dc now have a pony and are out doing things I’d never imagined they would be at this point. They also have a separate group of lovely supportive friends some of who I imagine lasting for life!

Rainbows/brownies/guides/rangers - gave her the chance to try so many different things, gave her chances to take responsibility for things, gave her leadership skills, great friends.
Dance - started when she was 2.5. No competitions, but regular shows and chances to take exams, fitness (not sporty so great alternative), great friends. Gave her clubs she could join when she started uni which widened her opportunities to make new friends.

Badgers - the junior branch of St Johns Ambulance.

You learn lots of first aid, but also lots of safety/situational awareness. Lots of body/medical info too in a low key way.

Plus things like morse code and semaphore, and lots of "regular" activities like crafts and play woven in.

Socially when she was younger, it was probably Brownies. But that was not where her real interest lay later on, as you can tell from my username.

I think it's whatever they like doing, have some kind of talent for. The benefit of hobbies is sticking at something, improving, self esteem that comes from achievement. Social side and ability to get on with different groups of people is good too.

I do think a physical sports based hobby is good for girls as it makes them think about their body as strong and healthy not just how it looks.

Scouts, brownies and guides totally dependent on what the volunteer leaders are like. The ones round here mainly a bit shit - especially guides!

DD did dance, gymnastics, brownies, Guides, Stagecoach, netball, kickboxing - largely serially with some overlaps from age of 5 to 17. At 18 kickboxes and climbs.

More concerned about DS who almost impossible to get to do things some football when younger - nothing at secondary.

Both did DofE bronze and silver which is at least something

Music, led to school orchestra, county orchestra and university orchestra. Something to break ice/common bond whereever you are.

Learned musical instruments from when tiny. Later worked in a completely unrelated, fulfilling career. However a chance crossover with professional musicians led to a niche promotion. Now has a unique specialist job combining both.

It's a difficult split between youth orchestra (easy to join and made friends) and Guides (same). Both cheap and full of opportunities...even for teens ...

Indoor climbing and bouldering. Grades to be done and they all continued through uni. Great for meeting new people when away from home.

She still attends Guides aged 13, has been doing it since she was tiny (whatever the small version is - the pre-Brownies one).

Tho I wouldn't say she gets loads from each weekly session, the camps have been absolutely brilliant for her, and given her loads of joy, strengthened her friendships, developed her independence etc.

She also has singing lessons and that has been brilliant for her - but that's more specific for her as she is a very talented singer (sorry for the shameless daughter-flex there).

But without knowing the child's special interests and talents, BrownieslGuides is the one I would recommend to all.

Karate gave my child confidence, skills to protect herself and stamina

Hobby: horse riding
Life skill: swimming