To limit them to one extra-curricular activity each

[hippoherostandinghere]

We have 2 DC, one boy one girl. DH works full time and I work part time, we both work shifts so there is no set days each week we're both guaranteed to be off.

Ds is 7 and does football after school once a week, trains for a club one evening a week, and will be playing on a sat morning come September.

DD is 4, 5 in July and she currently does gymnastics outside school. She really wants to do dance in September and I have signed her up for piano lessons, 30 mins a week for Sept too.

I seriously can't keep up. DD also goes to GB one evening and they both go to Sunday school. DH is keen for them to start swimming lesson's too. I'm very reluctant to commit to dance for DD, both for money and time reasons. So should I just say one activity each and limit it to gymnastics for DD.

Which activities do your DC love the most? And should I at least give DD the chance to try dancing out. Ds isnt keen on doing anything else, he really doesn't want to do swimming but I think it would be quite important he learnt sooner rather than later.

Swimming is an essential life skill, so to us that isn't an extracurricular activity.

11yo DS - Youth Club, Football and Tennis. Has guitar lessons privately and Violin at school. Did go to Cubs but the scout group didn't keep his interest so he jacked that in. He went to swimming lessons till he was at the level before swim club.

8yo DD - Tap, Jazz, Ballet. Brownies. Highland. Piano and swimming lessons.

I work shifts. DH can sometimes be away with work but we have family and friends who can help out with drop offs and pick ups and we reciprocate.

If DS didn't go to any clubs he would have to be surgically removed from his PS4/tablet/phone.

Dd, 5, does swimming and tennis at present. I'm dropping the tennis at the end of this term and swimming will change location. Both are at the weekend as dd doesn't get home from school until 5pm. Once tea, reading and bath time are done it's almost bed time.

I'm expecting her to get a lot more homework in year one so one activity a week along with playing in the garden, riding her bike, roller skating and scooting plus trips to the park will be plenty.

I expect she will join the village Brownie pack once she is 7, but I'm not planning her life away with lots of activities, I work shifts so it isn't fair on dh or other relatives to have to ferry her here, there and everywhere, plus parties seem to be an almost weekly event too.

The answer to this question depends on your finances and your circumstances - they don't have to do any after school activities at all (or they can just do the ones organised at your school).

They are still young and tbh I don't think it really matters what they do - at this age they can try different thing to see what they prefer. So for eg I'd let your youngest do a year of dance to see if she prefers it to gymnastics.

My oldest is a musician and it's expensive and time-consuming. For a 4/5 year old piano isn't really the best choice and many piano teachers won't take students this young.

My younger child only does one activity now (cycling) having tried lots of different activities when he was younger.

Incidentally neither of mine have had formal swimming lessons outside of school, we don't live near a pool so they only swim (outdoors) in the summer - and they can both swim quite competently.

Ds (9) does judo, trampoling, water sports club, swimming and diving.

Dd (6) does beavers, gymnastics x2 a week, ballet, singing, swimming and diving.
Like others the swimming is non negotiable to me. Everything else is their choice. Dh and I both work full time, it's not hard to fit it in to be honest. A lot of them are term time only which makes it easier.

dd(3) does swimming, ballet and gymnastics. She also goes to a German language playgroup once a week. Mostly she's doing these things because she'd otherwise sit and do craft all day and I needed a way to gey her active.

We will be adding piano lessons and Rainbows when she goes to school, and we won't be doing gymnastics anymore because the timings won't work unless I stop working, magically obtain a car and my husband's salary triples...

To answer your question - only do what you yourself can fit in. It's no good to be signed up to everything if your parents end up stressed and exhausted. they can always do more when they get to school - you might find things get mote streamlined then.

Both ds and dd are involved in scouting, dd also does ice skating lessons on a Sunday and ds has recently started boxing lessons on a Monday.
Both dh and me work full time and any more commitments in the already hectic evenings would be very stressful and also possibly financially difficult.