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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

DC extra curricular activities?

49 replies

NoPlaced · 14/02/2019 17:52

Sorry, posting here for traffic but I was on another thread about extra curricular activities and was really quite taken aback at how much some people do, it must be really expensive and take up a lot of time.
Currently:
DS15 does rugby both in and out of school but both are free.
DD12- does art and football with school but has tennis lessons once a week for £5
DS9- does football with school for free but has cubs for £6 a week and swimming lessons (£60 annual pass).
I think I'm paying about £430 a year, which sounds like a lot to me. Older children take themselves to activities while either me or DH will take DS 9, which isn't too bad.
Is this a normal amount and the other thread was an outlier or do others spend lots of time and money on this?

OP posts:
lastqueenofscotland · 14/02/2019 17:59

I think spend is a bit of a red herring and also depends relative to your household income.
Your DC might have just one hobby, but if that is say, showjumping at a national level that could convincably average out at a grand a month or more.

Equally they might be into parkrun which is free except for the cost of a pair of running shoes and something suitable to wear.

Original poster
NoPlaced · 14/02/2019 18:02

It's both expenses and time. We're on a middling income (although probably quite low by Mumsnet standards) but I'm naturally very frugal and did wonder if I was being a bit tight.

OP posts:
TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 14/02/2019 18:09

DD is nearly 6. She does gymnastics, ice skating and ballet. We pay out just under £2k a year in fees. That's not taking into account any bootcamps, ballet uniform, skate sharpening etc.

That will go up as she increases skate time, competition fees once she is competing...but she is our only child and we have the money to spend. She shows potential so we might as well nurture it.

TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 14/02/2019 18:11

In terms of time. Gymnastics and ballet are an hour each, every week within walking distance of our house. Skating is twice a week, totalling about 8 hours including travel time to and from the rink.

speakout · 14/02/2019 18:15

My dd was doing 17 hours of ballet a week after school.
New dance shoes every 2 weeks and fees costing me £300 a month.
Thankfully now at University ( even more expensive)

Mudmonster · 14/02/2019 18:15

We probably spend £130 a month on extra curricular activities for our 3 DC.
I don’t mind, they enjoy their activities. It keeps them active and they have a variety of activities from swimming to karate to cubs.

RedSkyLastNight · 14/02/2019 18:16

If your DC has music lessons they are pretty costly compared to other activities.

Also if your DC gets to a higher level in an activity,the expenses tend to get more as you pay out for more sessions, equipment/kit, travel to competitions ...it's never ending.

reluctantbrit · 14/02/2019 18:21

I think we spend around £300/term.

We are consious that with a huge lack of PE in school DD needs additional physical activities outside school. So she swims and ride.

She also does drama/singing which is actually the most expensive hobby but she really enjoys it and her teacher at school (drama and music) commented how good she is in the subjects.

She is also a Scout, annual subscription is low but we pay around £25/months for camps/days out

No idea about costs for clothing/equipment etc, that is bought when needed.

hippoherostandinghere · 14/02/2019 18:21

DD does 6 hours of gymnastics a week, split over 3 days. She also does piano & speech outside of school. In school she does choir and Spanish.

DS plays football 3 times a week and piano. I'm school he does football.
Per hour the piano works out the dearest of them all.

DebbieFiderer · 14/02/2019 18:37

I try not to add up how much I spend but it is at least £2k per year between two children (not split evenly). We don't have a big income by any means, but we prioritise this over one off things like holidays as I think the children will get more out of the activities long term.

In terms of amount, one swims 4 times a week for between 1 and 2 hours a time, and also does ballet, gymnastics and guitar. The other one is about to stop her swimming lessons but also does dancing, cheerleading, gymnastics, Brownies and piano.

ChoudeBruxelles · 14/02/2019 18:40

That’s not a lot I don’t think per child per month. Ds (12) does cadets twice a week which is a bargain for £8 a month (plus extra for trips), jiujitsu once a week (£5 per session) and wants to do a bouldering course which is £60 for 6 sessions.

AlexaShutUp · 14/02/2019 18:44

I don't think you're necessarily being tight. Do your kids actually want to do other activities anyway, or are they quite happy with what they're doing at the moment?

We have just one dd, who is 13. Her passion is dance and drama. She does a couple of hours of dance three nights a week, plus three hours of drama/dance on a Sunday. It probably costs somewhere in the region of around £150 per month, then there is extra for exams, shows, shoes, costumes etc. My guess is that it averages out at around £250 a month all in. She also goes to a free drama club in school on one of the nights when she isn't dancing. Then there are extra rehearsals before shows and weekend exams/competitions etc.

All in all, it requires a huge commitment of time and money from us (and obviously time from her as well) to make it possible, but she absolutely loves it and gets a huge amount out of it, and as we only have the one DC, we can afford to facilitate this for her. If we couldn't afford it/didn't want to invest the time, we wouldn't!

Original poster
NoPlaced · 14/02/2019 18:52

AlexaShutup
I suppose you're right, really, they're happy with what they do and probably wouldn't want to do more. I'm just aware that I had no idea what the norm was.

OP posts:
Natsku · 14/02/2019 18:53

DD does Scouts which is about 60 euros for the year but then there's the extra costs with camps and trips, and Circus School which is 45 euros a term so that's 150 euros a year plus probably about 150 euros for the extra Scout costs so 300 a year for one child. 430 quid a year for 3 children sounds very reasonable in comparison!

QueenofLouisiana · 14/02/2019 18:55

Swimming. £50 a month for squad fees. An average of £40 a month in race fees. Couple of swim camps at £100 a day. Hotels for overnight at meets which are further away (competes at regional to national level) £80 a night, 4 times a year. £12 a month gym fees.
I darent think about the jammers, goggles, hoodies, land training gear etc.

Fiveletters · 14/02/2019 18:59

My 12 year old does cricket, cross country, scouts and drums. He also does maths tuition once a week.

My 5 year old does football, rainbows, gymnastics, swimming and junior park run.

The 2 year old doesn’t do anything yet thank goodness!

Pengweng · 14/02/2019 19:05

Dance is 30 mins a week £3 times 2 kids x 39 weeks as it is term time only. £234

Beavers is the same as dance. £234

Swimming is £750 a year for them both. Runs all year round.

So about £1200 a year for two kids.

bridgetreilly · 14/02/2019 19:07

When do all these children get time to read?!!!

Seriously, that was my favourite hobby as a child (and an adult). I would have hated to have go to endless clubs. I like lots of quiet time alone. School was plenty of social interaction, together with spending time with my friends. I did do Brownies for a couple of years and I was in a drama group one year, but I think that was more or less it.

notsurewhatshappening · 14/02/2019 19:11

This varies wildly amongst people I know. Some families ferry their kids to activities every night, we are the other end of the spectrum. DD (8) does lunchtime football club (free) at school- we bought the kitchen, shin pads etc, and gymnastics on Saturday mornings. She has finished swimming lessons as she's now very competent. DS (5) does rugby on Sunday mornings. Nothing else as he is quite lazy. Both love being at home and they go to a childminder 3-4 evenings a week so weekend clubs work better than evening ones.

SoyDora · 14/02/2019 19:12

I would have hated to have go to endless clubs. I like lots of quiet time alone

But all children are different! DD1 does ballet, rainbows, piano lessons, swimming and an after school sports club. She loves the social aspect of clubs. She’s not a huge fan of pottering around at home. She does love to read and gets plenty of time for that. It suits her, so she does it.

reluctantbrit · 14/02/2019 19:14

Reading happens in bed or at the weekend after lunch. They also read a lot on school (Secondary), they are basically told always have a book with them and read when they finish their work early.

neversleepagain · 14/02/2019 19:16

Music lessons cost 1.2k, football £400 and 1k for swimming lessons per annum. Ouch now that I come to think of it.

TheMobileSiteMadeMeSignup · 14/02/2019 19:16

DD reads before we get up in the morning, when she is waiting for dinner to cook, before she goes to bed, for hours on a Sunday if we aren't going out. I used to do 14 hours of dance classes a week on top of my studies and still found time to read. So you can unclench now, Bridgetreilly.

speakout · 14/02/2019 19:18

But all children are different!

Exactly.

My DD is a dancer- the number of hours crept up every year until she was doing 6 hours a week, then 12, 15 hours, 19 hours a week.
I tried to put a lid on the dance and at secondary school shows and dance exams often coincided with impotant exams at school.

But she had such a passion, there was no keeping a lid on things.

She did pass her exams and started at University ( nothing to do with dance), but it has been a blessing- really changed her life in so many ways and developed her as a person.
She still dances as a hobby and teaches dance part time while she studies.

SoyDora · 14/02/2019 19:19

I’ve never added up how much it costs before... DD1’s activities cost approx £1.2k per year. DD2 is 3.5 and just does swimming lessons and ballet so approximately £600 per year. We can afford it, we have the time and they enjoy it. If we couldn’t/didn’t, then we wouldn’t do it.

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