To ask how many after school activities do your kids do and how much do they cost?

[PinkKecks]

Just that really. My DC is in reception and already most of his class have classes after school/at the weekend (gymnastics, football, music, ballet etc.)

Covid stopped classes for ages so it sort if went from my mind and I've not put DC in any classes yet, but just hoping to get an idea about what sort of classes kids do, how many different classes, how often, and costs per week per child?

Thanks

DS is in reception.

Swimming lessons (and free access to go swimming at other times which we do 1 x a week) £32 a month

Free art club and sports club at school.

Gymnastics £34 a month for a 1hr class 1x a week

Mini football is £5 PAYG

Dance, I pay per term but it works out as £12 per session, kit on top of that and fees for any dance exams. He dances twice a week so £24 a week.

Swimming, this is now a group session rather than 1:1 which is £6 a session.

Rugby, just the yearly club fee and kit.

Also reception aged child, he does swimming once a week for £8.

He does arts and crafts club and a construction club once a week for £6 each but that’s wrap around care as is on school site and need it for childcare

DD aged 5 and in YR1, currently only does Gymnastics, 1 hour per week. It's £25 a month.

She previously did ballet which was £35 per half term and stopped this during covid.

There's a huge shortage of swimming spaces here and she's on the waiting list for ones via the leisure centre (£5 per class) and for private tuition (1 teacher to 3 children) which is £125 for a block of 10 lessons. Both lists have waits of up to a year!

DD is also on the waiting list for Rainbows, has been for about two months now.

What kind of things do they do at rainbows?

My ds in reception does swimming, which works out as £5 per lesson. His sister in yr2 does swimming and rainbows. I sometimes think they need to do something at the weekend size they're just starting to seem a bit bored. But then I also sometimes think that being bored is character building! I'm looking forward to them being able to pick up a book to entertain themselves.

I have a reception child and pre school child. They don't do any clubs.
Although reception child will start swimming once a week next term.

The school don't offer any after school clubs.

DD is 10. She does swimming x2 a week all year round. Surf lifesaving in summer and a team sport in summer and winter (1x practice and game). We live in NZ if you are wondering about the surf lifesaving.

She’s also done dance (ballet and hip hop), French, football, and drama at various points.

At 5 we did swimming and French. She also did football I think.

The only extra-curricular activity I’d insist on is swimming, but we live a 2 minute walk from the beach.

The benefit for my DD from many of these activities is she’s made friends outside her school. It’s also great for me to meet other parents as well - especially where the sport is club based.

My daughter does ballet and after reading all your posts, I'm feeling like a right chump. I pay £240 a month. We go 3 to 4 times a week. Then there's the cost of costumes, regular dancing clothes, exams, entry fees to competitions and hotel stays, depending where these competitions are. I'm easily spending over £4000 a year. I should have got her into swimming, I would have made great savings.

2 kids

2 x running club - £2.50 each a week
1 x judo £22 a month
1 x trampolining £68 per 8 weeks
2 x swimming £5.90 each
1 x tutor £30 a week

We just do swimming lessons on a Saturday (kids 6 and 4). I think others do more after school but we can’t manage that logistically at this age (live rurally). As they get older we’ll up it.

It’s £44 a month (for both) at the local leisure centre.

8yo DS.

He does 3 things in term time - craft club after school which is £30 a term. Guitar lesson in school which is £6.50 per lesson. Swimming which is £8.50 per lesson.

Then he does horse riding all year round which is £25 a lesson, he goes once a week.

He doesn't particularly enjoy swimming so he probably won't carry it on on a competitive level, but I've said he must continue until he is at least a strong confident swimmer as I think it's important. Then he can stop.

In Reception mine only did swimming lessons (2 X £25 a month).

Now DS1 Y6 has each week:
1 X drum lessons £11 - pw paid termly
2 X swim training £25pm

DS2 Y4:
1 X piano £16 - pw paid termly.
1 X swimming lesson £25pm
1 X Cubs session £40 per term

It's a bit of a wounder at the start of term when it all comes in, though Cubs also allow you to pay half termly. The unexpecteds are costly. I deferred one Cubs half term payment because it was the same time as paying in full for a camp.

In reception DC did nothing. Late summer born and was not in the mood to listen after school. Local swimming pool was closed for maintenance. Y1 was covid so picked up Tennis then added Gymnastics and Athletics (plus music) in Y2

Ruinous.

Ds1 - piano, drums, brass band and explorers : £33 pw plus exam fees

Ds2 - ballet/tap/street/modern plus singing lessons plus musical theatre group £40 pw and that's without all the exam fees, costumes etc

My advice to any parent is never to encourage your child in the arts (only half serious)

@Porseb

Read this thread before you commit your DC or sign them up

To hate that so many sports are so expensive? [[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am]]iibeingunreasonable/4417617-To-hate-that-so-many-sports-are-so-expensive

The consensus on this thread is avoid water, ice, horses, tennis, sharp weapons, dance and especially music.

If you need to keep it cheap you are left with park run and local football.

My reception age child does:
Football
Gymnastics
Dance
Riding fortnightly
Swimming
Tennis in summer.

She doesn’t do any after school wrap around care/childminder so it doesn’t feel too much.

My kids were not able to manage anything more than school until they were at least 7. They were just too tired.
Now I only let them do free or cheap and very local activities so I'm not spending my life driving them around. We live in an area with lots of funding so football and dance are free, swimming is subsidised. That's all they do.

3dc
I've very carefully resisted too many scheduled activities..

Music £80 per month
Guides £25 per term
Spanish £28-£35 per month (7 per lesson)

Swimming - £33 each per month for half an hour per week.

Football - £3 per week x 2 training sessions + £170 per year for registration, kit etc.

Drama - £7 per week for club, then performance fee (rehearsals + costume) of around £50 per performance - but this is cheap for drama, we’re lucky to have a very good local organisation.

Brownies / beavers approx £3 per week each.

Ballet & other dance £6 per lesson + £££ kit / exam / performance fees.

Music lessons £15 each per half hour lesson.

It adds up quickly! Girl guiding / scouting are best value we’ve found, dance & music have the potential to really rack up but it just what their interests are. Swimming is our non negotiable, that’s less of a hobby more of a must do IMO so I’d start there.

Thanks for all your replies. Wow, this is eye opening and eye watering looking at the amounts everyone is spending. Think I'm going to have to get another job to afford all these things (going by some if the numbers on here, perhaps I should look at retraining as a swimming instructor! 🤑)

Mine are a bit older now but
Dd -
Drama -free
Youth club - free
Scouts - £10 a month

DS
Instrumental lesson - £75 a month
Football - free after school
Scouts - £10 a month

They used to do much more when they were younger - swimming lessons, dance lessons, karate, brownies but they were knackered and not enjoying many. Covid was a bit of a lesson that we were doing too much.

@PinkKecks

Thanks for all your replies. Wow, this is eye opening and eye watering looking at the amounts everyone is spending. Think I'm going to have to get another job to afford all these things (going by some if the numbers on here, perhaps I should look at retraining as a swimming instructor! 🤑)

They don't need scheduled activities, especially not while they are small.

You could take your child swimming, rather than for lessons and enjoy the time together. That still costs an eye watering £10 for me and DD but we get an hour and a half, plus time together.
You could spend money saved from not doing scheduled activities on family days out.

We've only really started with after school stuff (apart from brownies) as my kids got closer to teenhood and expressed an interest/aptitude. I don't feel they've missed out.

The other reason I would try them with after school stuff is to try to give them a wider friendship base if they haven't found their tribe within school and need their confidence building.

I was always anti over scheduling but DS has done music since second term of reception as he was very insistent on what he wanted to play and is making good progress (now year 3) £25 a lesson which is a lot of money but for a v good teacher. Swimming £30 a month but that’s twice a week. Karate £10 a lesson and only because I had to take younger DC and seems silly to make him wait and has just started cubs. He also does a few school based after school clubs (only one has a cost at £3). He does really well with external structure and organised activities - bright but finds some of the social side of things difficult to negotiate. Everyone is happier when he has structure, although it’s costly. Good thing is that karate and music are not charged for missed lessons so if they’re poorly etc they don’t go.

Middle DC just does karate and 1 school club and will start music next term but in second term of year 1 so a year later than older DC. I’m more inclined to keep her having lots of free time as she’s just a different child. She will start swimming at some point as want her to be safe in the water.