11 year old granddaughters activity level

[Rosille]

Good morning everyone,
My only granddaughter is 11, she’s in Y7 and a brilliant girl. Her mum passed away in 2019 so my son is raising her alone.
Grandaughter is a very bright, intelligent girl. She has always been a bit of a live wire and is very active, would rather be out on her bike than playing inside etc.
My son is a bit weak willed with her and If she asks to do something he almost always says yes but I’m now worried that her Schedule is too much on her young body.
For sports she loves tennis and athletics. She does both competitively and does well. Her dad decided this year to get a private tennis coach for her after they went to Wimbledon and she declared she wants to be a pro one day (I don’t think she is quite that good!). Athletics she enjoys but not as much. She also decided to join her school volleyball team.

Currently her schedule is
Monday - Tennis training before school
Tuesday - Cross Country training
Wednesday - Tennis before school and volleyball afterschool
Thursday - Indoor Athletics training
Friday - Tennis before school
Saturday - Either a tennis comp or athletics comp
Sunday - Tennis training for 3 hours

My issue is my granddaughter is very skinny, she is a good eater but she spends so much time active that I worry she is doing too much. She’s very competitive so won’t stop and my son hates to say no to her.

AIBU to think this is way too much physical activity? Something needs to give right?

6 hours of tennis and a comp isn’t all that much, although i think in the U.K. it’s more than normal. Both my sons play tennis and they train 7-8 hours a week plus matches and that’s pretty standard for your “main” sport here in Australia.
When we lived in the U.K. for a year my kids were surprised at how inactive people were generally and it was remarked on that they trained three times a week which was really the bare minimum that they would do over here.

If she enjoys it, go for it! My youngest is the keenest on tennis and he says he would play every day if he could!

Is she actually underweight?

Speaking from experience, it all caught up with me in my 20s. Not eating enough for my activity level etc. Told I had very reduced fertility in my early 20s but thankfully conceived. I'm lucky I didn't develop osteopenia, which a lot of girls are at risk of if they don't eat enough. It seems a lot of women on Mumsnet have eating disorders and are happy their teens and pre teens are very underweight. It's as dangerous as being overweight.

I think it's OK for Y7. She may need to choose to focus on one sport when she goes to Y10 if she's getting too tired for academic work. Some purple can cope with more than others. If she very energetic then this is great. As long as she eating enough.

A lot of private school kids will be doing a similar amount - training in the morning, a lunchtime club, afternoon sport and weekend matches and activities. I'd focus on diet and sleep - is she eating enough and getting enough good-quality sleep? Focus on the issues there.

I don't see an issue. Sleep isn't an issue if she keeps this level of activity up. Some people just have more energy and need less sleep.

I would imagine it is keeping her head busy as well. I would actually consider it a healthy approach to grief. Remember she is going to have the grief hit her at each milestone, and having these outlets may prove to be a support.