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Original poster

After school activities

51 replies

AintNoCista · 10/09/2018 10:52

Ds1 has just started y7 and I'd like to get him into after school clubs to compliment his education. I was thinking of swimming, as it's not offered at his school and guitar lessons.

Swimming for 1/2 an hour weekly is £25 a month

Guitar for 2 hour weekly lessons is £65 a month

I am on benefits after significant life changes and will struggle to afford this but I have cancelled my gym membership to ease the cost and it's doable.

Best friend thinks School is enough and I shouldn't burden myself financially when children his age would rather be left alone. I think £90 is fine as he doesn't get pocket money and enjoys both of these activities. If it was a maths. Lib shed have a point!

Aibu to ask how much your dc do around school and how much you pay?

OP posts:
BlooperReel · 10/09/2018 16:00

In terms of cost, swimming is £25 per month each, Piano £10 per week and performing arts £5 per week.

inTheBoredroom · 10/09/2018 16:03

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AlexanderHamilton · 10/09/2018 16:15

How incredibly rude. I wasn’t aware perfect English was required whilst typing on a phone in my break at work with a delayed reaction keyboard.

But I can say 100% that music is the reason Ds is in school at all. It’s also the reason we were able to pay for private school for two kids for 10 years.

I don’t know what a Corbynista snowflake is. I just believe that music is a vital part of children’s education (as is learning to swim as it could be life saving).

TotHappy · 10/09/2018 16:18

Don't be silly, Bored. You've fallen into the trap of believing that money is the only legitimate goal in life, it seems - think again.

Queenofthedrivensnow · 10/09/2018 16:18

My girls 5 and 8 do swimming - £22 each, trampolining £37 each, dd1 brownies - £30 odd a term and dd2 martial arts £25 a month.

It's a matter of opinion whether you think school is enough. My two love their extra stuff

Queenofthedrivensnow · 10/09/2018 16:20

Swimming might save his life too

cookiesandchocolate · 10/09/2018 16:22

OP I would say definitely swimming until your DS learns it and then stop.
My DD does them now and will stop once she becomes a confident swimmer.

I think learning an instrument is a great idea but also expensive so your DS will have to be committed.

If you can afford it then I would definitely say it's worth the money

NoSquirrels · 10/09/2018 16:27

I would imagine at Y7 (secondary) that it’s not swimming lessons you want but a club? Perhaps that’s what you mean? Otherwise I’d hes reasonable standard already by 11/12 I’d just be encouraging him to the pool at weekends and maybe once in the week without it being ‘lessons’. I’m personally looking forward to the day my DC don’t need swim lessons any more!

Guitar/School of Rock sounds ace.

BackforGood · 10/09/2018 16:29

What an odd, and sad way to go through life BoredRoom

inTheBoredroom · 10/09/2018 16:30

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NoSquirrels · 10/09/2018 16:34

Their passion for throat-singing and the tin whistle may make them into self-aware and fulfilled adults but As in a Science, Maths and English will get them into higher education and a lucrative career.

I’m only aiming to bring up self-aware and fulfilled adults, so I’m totally cool with that. Lucrative career’s not loads of good when you’re burnt out with no life skills or emotional intelligence and you’re starting from scratch as an adult. You can pay for therapy and life coaching and wellness retreats, but better not to need to, I reckon.

mummyhaschangedhername · 10/09/2018 16:36

I have four children,

Child A - boy - only does swimming at £25 (he has autism and it's really a Miracle he likes that)

Child B, - boy - undiagnosed but has special needs, does nothing, we was doing swimming but he really just doesn't want to do anything.

Child c - boy - does gymnastics, ballet and swimming. Think he would sign up for more if he could but for now it's enough and will look at what else he wants after Christmas.

Child d - girl - does ballet, she used to do swimming but her attention wasn't really here and she's fairly young and immature, she wants to do gymnastics which I'll sign her up for once she's used to being full time at school. Plus intended to do swimming again.

Costs are fairly low on an individual bases, still paying for 4 swimming but two will end at the end of the month. That £25 a month. Ballet is £36 a term. Gymnastics is £26 a term but I can switch him to a different centre which wouldn't cost anything as we already pay the swimming membership which includes any activities at the centre (so could be an absolute bargain). So not huge costs really. Was hoping child A would try drums as he mentioned it in school but he doesn't seem keen anymore. Child A used to do horse riding which was about £30 for half an hour, and it was a fair distance away. Plus, I really know nothing about horses nor want to.

mummyhaschangedhername · 10/09/2018 16:38

Sorry, please excuse my spelling and grammar, I was half dealing with children and half writing this and it's all gone terribly wrong. 😂

AlexanderHamilton · 10/09/2018 16:43

Without music he would either be in a PRU, a mental health hospital or possibly dead so I beg to differ actually.

londonmummy1966 · 10/09/2018 16:43

If you can afford it it sounds a good combination of activities. Swimming is excellent exercise and learning teamwork by playing music as a group is probably a more important life skill than advanced calculus....

Seniorschoolmum · 10/09/2018 16:47

Ds 10 does swimming which I regard as an essential life skill, but luckily he enjoys, and karate. If money was tight, we would cancel karate.
I don’t mind what ds does as long as he does swimming and one other. It’s his call, cost allowing.

PorkFlute · 10/09/2018 16:51

Research has shown that activities such as learning a foreign language, an instrument or playing a sport bring cognitive benefits that increase performance in the core subjects as well as impacting positively on wellbeing. So they are definitely worthwhile pursuits imo.

PumpkinPie2016 · 10/09/2018 17:00

My son has just started reception and he has swimming lessons (£50.50 for a 10 lesson block so average is £5.05 a week) and a drama class which is £5 per week.

Both of these obviously teach him skills but he also enjoys them and they are helping him with his social skills. He is an only child so I want him to do things with other kids.

At the moment I have no plans to add anything else but may be music when he is a bit older.

ZanyMobster · 10/09/2018 17:10

I couldn't disagree with boredroom more. There are many benefits to learning a musical instrument or taking up a sport, although team sports are more beneficial than individual ones. A quick Google will show you a lot of evidence. It is proven that those who learn an instrument or play sport to a decent level do better academically. It is about discipline and motivation, kind of obvious really. It's the correlation between practising and improving. Anyway this thread is not really about that. I think you are horribly rude Boredroom TBH.

ZanyMobster · 10/09/2018 17:12

I personally believe swimming is mega important as it is a skill that can save your life. I live near the sea, very few families here do not teach their kids to swim.

DameFanny · 10/09/2018 17:21

Massive emphasis on STEM over arts is missing a major point. STEM might give you the infrastructure - the computers, the communications etc, but it's the Arts that creates most of the content.

Would you be spending masses on the latest screen to just watch the Nikkei ticking up? Would you upgrade your tablet for the sake of its spreadsheeting capability? Would you buy clothes made on a 3d loom if they looked like grey pyjamas (ok, well maybe that one).

STEM is mostly meaningless without the Arts, and an artistic education helps massively with creative thinking.

/Jumps off soapbox/

DameFanny · 10/09/2018 17:24

Lots of masses and massives there.

Mass-eeev!
/flicky finger hand gesture/

Original poster
AintNoCista · 10/09/2018 17:29

Agree on the teamwork part of activities. He's quite a loner, has lots of friends but Just enjoys independent activities such as reading, swimming and art. This guitar lesson club puts them into a band for the non-teaching part and I feel this might benefit him as he will become part of a team whilst being passionate about what he's doing

Also agree that academia isn't my main aim/focus for my children. I'm naturally very academic however luckily not everyone is. A life without art, music, theatre and sport would be a very depressing world indeed! Kids should peruse what makes them happy, if he chooses to be a musician I'll happily support that, even if that means he won't move out at 18 to go to university, have a flash car or be able to afford a fancy nursing home for me.

I'm aiming to raise good, happy young men whatever they choose to do.

OP posts:
Original poster
AintNoCista · 10/09/2018 17:31

It's a shame the arts and other subjects have been vilified like this, they are so incredibly important. I can't see how anyone can't agree that learning an instrument shouldn't be as important as learning algebra.

OP posts:
Pikehau · 10/09/2018 18:43

Da is 6.5 and does Swimming, guitar, karate and football instead of breakfast club one day a week. He also would like to try hockey and beavers/cubs....we need to cut down if doing all that!

I supplement this happily as we are not sending them private and I am fortunate to afford it.

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