What extracurriculars/clubs do your children do?

[wineosaurusrex]

And how old are they?

Mine and 6 and 8 and I am wondering if they are doing not enough / too many!

When they were that age they were doing swimming and Beavers/Cubs.

Now at 12&14..
Out of school they do Scouts/Explorers and a sport each (climbing and Rugby)
Their school has a varied extracurricular programme but this term they are just doing the School Musical. DD1 also attends the homework sessions when she can rather than doing it at home.

Brownies and swimming. She used to do cooking classes on a Saturday but has just dropped it as its boring!
Just turned 9 she has just also started at the local youth club.

My 5yo does a crazy amount, which I would like to cut down, but she enjoys them all:
Acrobatics
Dance
Drama
Music
Swimming
Circus school

I find it exhausting, she seems fine though 🤷‍♀️

8&10

Monday - DC7: netball. DC10: choir
Tuesday - both piano lessons
Wednesday - gymnastics & Brownies/Guides
Thursday - both diving lesson
Friday - DC7: swimming. DC10 running club
Saturday - 5k parkrun & gymnastics
Sunday - junior Parkrun

and they still want to add more. I’ve said no!

I also feel my 6 year old does too much and want her to cut down. However a lot of these clubs are after school when she would otherwise be in alternative childcare anyway:
Gymnastics
Spanish
Rainbows
Swimming
Drama
Art
Choir

Unfortunately the only one she wants to give up is swimming which is the only one I insist she continues!

As someone who spend years running round after the DSC and then my DC doing lots of clubs, don’t do it! Pick one at a time and stick to it (or swap) but keep to one per child!

My 4 year old (5 in Jan) only does swimming at the moment. She has just started school, and is finding that exhausting enough.

My 7 year old (in Y3) does swimming, football (one training session and one game a week), choir and street dance. The latter two are after school activities, so much easier for me as I am not driving her anywhere for those. She would easily do something else, but we both work and have no family support nearby, so it is us doing all the organising and picking up! I think it is plenty for her.

I'd say the opposite!

Mine have always done loads - they were keen and I have always facilitated their interests.

As they've got older I've realised that downtime mostly means phones and social media, and if they're out at sports and clubs then they're interacting in real life and not being sucked into friendship drama and doom scrolling.

They have made it to GCSEs fit, healthy and engaged in real life interests, with good self esteem and friends outside of school. They have had lots of experiences they wouldn't have otherwise had and lots of opportunities for trips and residentials.

Do all the things I say!

If the clubs are at school I let my kids do as much as they like. Out of school I only let them do one instrument and one sport (because they can’t do music or sport at school) plus swimming which I make them do. So if they want to do another sport they have to give up the first one. Even this is too much running around as I have four DC and they all do different things.

I think you have to get the balance right and that will vary depending on the child/age/your capacity. Personally I think young children (under 9 or 10) need plenty of time to just play/be bored without an adult directing them

DS8 does:
Mon - Futsal (football skill sort of thing)
Tues - Yoga
Wed - Football training
Fri - Cubs
Sat - Football match
Sun- - Rugby match or training depending on week.

He wanted to add dodgeball or basketball but I can't find a class in the free time he has.

DD4 only does dance at the moment but adding football and rugby from Jan I think

Remember to take time for yourself and make sure you don't allow the eldest to do loads leaving no time for the youngest.

6 year old does forest school, music club and piano lessons through school and Beavers and swimming outside of school

Kids loved it and now we only have the youngest that plays one sport for two clubs, but honestly, I was knackered working full time and running around. It really affected my health at one point. I wish I’d been more selective on what we took on, not for them but for me.

I think it’s good if you can to get them into a sport before adolescence, particularly girls who give up exercise at high rates once they hit the teen years. It doesn’t have to be full on sport - could be hill walking or dancing or yoga. But something they like and will stick with.

Agree.

It has taken a toll on me, my evenings and finances!

However, I look at the worries some of their peers' parents have about social isolation, lack of motivation, weight/eating, self harm, anxiety etc and am glad that my worries only relate to mine wanting to join in with everything!

Unfortunately we didn’t by pass those worries either, however I do below their sports team friends are the ones that helped pull them round and worry where they would be without them.

DD is 7 and does beavers, tap, ballet and musical theatre. She recently dropped swimming after finishing stage 5.

Beavers is the absolute best value imo, £40 a term and they do LOADS. Plus she’s away at least 2 nights a year.

My child is 6 and does Beavers and Swimming. In the summer he also did cricket.

Beavers is fantastic because it also offers some extra activities at the weekends , activity days, walks, festive activities.

Its the right amount for us, I would hate to be facilitating an extra curricular activity every single night.

My twins are 5. They do

swimming (Wed and Fri)
dancing (Sat am)
gymnastics (Sat am)
tennis (Sun am)
speech and drama (Tues in after school club)
Spanish (Wed in after school club)

I’d like my son to do football but he doesn’t seem interested

Gymnastics - Just reduced from squad level.
Dance and Ballet
Rangers - Girlguiding
And lots of after school clubs.

At that age dc did stagecoach, swimming and brownies.

We’ve got 6 children (3 now grown up) and overall have found the extra curricular definitely hugely benefited them, although with experience I’m a bit more selective now with the clubs our younger ones do i.e cost, distance and how it fits into our routine, so would have to be exceptional for me to put any of them into a club on a weekday day not very local or something expensive, been there, done that but of course everyone’s circumstances different and if only child then probably isn’t such a hassle. Plus we’re really lucky in our area and school they do have quite a bit on so usually able to find an alternative to the high hassle option first considered

In school - Music and Drama (all year)
Summer - sailing
Winter and spring - Climbing or Art (depending on which one)

Out of school they do horse riding and Archery

started about 9 for the full set
(twins)

4-9 they were doing swimming out of school - now they have lessons as part of PE - they've been riding since they could sit up in front of me!

DDs are 8 and 6 as well.

My rule is they have to do swimming lessons and then can pick one other club for outside of school. They are already at after school club three nights a week so otherwise it feels too much both for them and for me dashing around.

DD1 does swimming and karate.

DD2 does swimming and Rainbows.

I don't mind what clubs they sign up to in school time. DD2 does forest school and DD1 is asking to do keyboard lessons which is done in school time so I'll be signing her up for that.

Some of these lists sound like an awful lot to me. With two children doing two variations of two clubs we already have some sort of activity on for them every night after school apart from a Friday.....which is the one day they can have a friend over for dinner or go to a friend's house after school to play which I think is important too.

2 boys age 10 and 7

Monday: piano for 7 year old, and hurling for 10 year old
tiesday: tennis for both, soccer for both
Wednesday: chess for 7 year old and gaa for 10 year old
Thursday: soccer for both
Friday: soccer for 10 year old every 2nd week
sat: gaa for 7 year old, soccer match 10 year old, guitar for both
Sunday: soccer match for 7 year old and swimming for both every 2nd week