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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

how much sport are your dc doing per week?

19 replies

ZZZenAgain · 05/03/2011 12:20

Reason I am asking is that I have noticed on some threads (KatyMac's dd doing dance 6 hours a week), Pagwatch's dd doing sport for more than an hour every day etc, that other people's dc seem to do a lot more than dd does.

Really don't have the energy to be getting her to and from more than she already does tbh but would like to know how far behind everyone else I am and whether I am being disgustingly slack about it...

Mind you I approve of all this sport, not knocking it

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 05/03/2011 12:26

dd2 aged 12 swims 3-4 times per week 1.5 hours each session, these are hard sessions as she is with sqaud - so would be 600 meters warm up, before they start the session they have planned - then 400 warm down. So she is probably swiming 7-10 km per week

tri training two hours run, cycle, swim

at school in lunch times - netball, badmington and table tennis.

Then two pe lessons each week and two dance lessons each week of 40 minutes each lesson.

Sometimes she comes to the gym with me as she likes the treadmill Grin and then we mess about in the pool after

Original poster
ZZZenAgain · 05/03/2011 12:29

oops i feared as much. That is so much more than dd does, it is a bit sad really. OMG

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KatyMac · 05/03/2011 12:34

Most of DD's friends don't tho' Zen

The ones that dance with her do an hour on a saturday (or the street on a Monday) & that's it

They all do school sports tho' which DD actively tries to get out of (she is scared of hurting a joint so she can't dance)

Hulababy · 05/03/2011 12:35

8y DD does climbing for two hours every fortnight. She is also active during her weekly drama class and usually during her brownie sessions.

She does 2-3 decent lengthed pe sessions a week at school, plus a quick paced walk to the sport's cebtre there and back.

We don't walk to school as it is too far away.

DD has two playtimes plus lunch time and I know they spend the time climbing, running around, etc.

Once the wetaher improves she'll be back out on her scooter and bike, and on the trampoline. The winter makes us a bit more slovenly round here.

Ladymuck · 05/03/2011 12:36

A lot depends on the child though. DS1 (Year 5) does around 13 hours a week - a mix of rugby, school PE/games, swimming and judo.

DS2 (Year 3) does far less - probably 2.5 hours of school PE/games plus 1hour gymnastics plus swimming - usually just a 30 min lesson, though during halfterm he had 40 mins each day. As with ivykaty's experience if a child is in a squad or team or club then the training can be quite intensive. DS1 was also in a swimming club but an extra 1.5 hours a day on top of what he already does simply wasn't possible.

Earlybird · 05/03/2011 12:41

I think it might be relevant to add in the age of your dc.

I suspect that elective exercise (ie, that which is not 'forced' on them by school) drops dramatically as dc approach teenager-dom (what word am I looking for?...but hopefully you get my point! Grin).

And, do we think there is a correlation between how much exercise our dc do, and how much we do? Asking because my very sporty friends tend to have very sporty dc.

irisjohnson · 05/03/2011 12:43

Ds1 (yr 6) does about 7 hours outside school and then whatever they do at school in PE etc.

Ds2 (yr 4) does around 9 hours outside school and then the school stuff. His is a mix of martial arts and dance.

Dd (reception) does 4 hours plus school PE.

ivykaty44 · 05/03/2011 12:47

earlybird - with us the opposite has happened. dd2 used to go out to play for an hour or two after school with her mates during years 3,4 and 5. There was swimming once a week and church youth club, karate for a while and life saving after that.

Now though her mates don't tend to be seen out playing/hanging around.

Dd2 doesn't tend to either as with extra activities and year 7 homework, plus music practice there isn't so much time.

Dd2 does get to socialise with the sports though and tri training the two club captins organise social activities 4 times a year and swimming there is lots of chat in the showers and disco's, galas and bbq's so she doesn't miss out on friends

meditrina · 05/03/2011 12:49

I always say yes for sport if I can work the logistics. The following are all at their request:

DSes do football (1.5 hours) and hockey (1 hour). DD does gymnastics (45 mins) and ballet (30 mins). They all do tennis (1 hour) and DD does a further 2 hour extension squad. We take them swimming whenever we can.

We've recently dropped martial arts (1.5 hours) because I couldn't fit everything in.

The only non-sport thing they do is piano.

frasersmummy · 05/03/2011 12:54

oh my goodness where do you all find time in between work school and housework

My ds has swimming lessons (1hr), karate (1hr) and football trg (1hr) plus he goes to anchor boys (1hr)which is quite active

And I struggle to fit it all in ..

frasersmummy · 05/03/2011 12:54

he is 5 btw

BrigitBigKnickers · 05/03/2011 12:55

DD1 (14)- 4 hours dance classes a week + PE (which involves regular school PE + additional GCSE lessons.

DD2- (12) 6 1/2 hours of dancing a week+ trampolining. (With additional PE at school)

uggmum · 05/03/2011 13:01

I have 2 dc.

DD1, 11, is a gymnast and competes regularly, she trains hard, 3 x 3hrs sessions per week. 1 hr of Horseriding and 1 x 2 hrs of recreational Gymnastics. At school she does 2 sessions of sport a week. But she also does Trampoline and Gymnastic club which is 1 x hr each per week. She is starting Athletics for 1 hr a week in April when the weather is better. We also have a 16 ft trampoline at home and she is on it constantly.

DS, 7, is also a gymnast, has just started competing, he does 2 x 3 hrs session per week, he also dances for 2.5 hrs a week and does cricket for 1.5 hrs per week. At school he does 2 sessions of sport and Netball club for 1 hr a week.

My dc are really fit. dd has always been a really active child. In fact she used to drive me mad as she was never still. She started gymnastics at 6 and really loved it. She has a talent and it improved her behaviour at home. It calmed her down completely. Ds just seemed to follow her really, he started gymnastics at 4 and I think he will overtake her eventually.

I do think my dc do a lot, but they are always keen and dd keeps up with all her school work. It is time consuming and I feel that I run about a lot. I do think it is personal choice and sometimes it is a case of finding a sport that your dc really like. A couple of hours a week is usually average and I wouldn't worry about it. Its a juggling act.

KatyMac · 05/03/2011 18:38

I wonder - DD is 13, and does all this dancing despite having asthma and feeling fairly rough sometimes

I'm not always sure it's a good idea

kslatts · 05/03/2011 22:55

My dd's both dance for 3 hours a week, sometimes they do an extra lesson. They used to swim twice a week in a swimming club, but due to the times of the sessions not being very convenient they gave it up, instead we got a family membership to the local leisure centre and usually go swimming a couple of times a week, although dd's tend to spend 15 or 20 minutes swimming and then the rest of the time playing in the pool.

Pagwatch · 06/03/2011 15:55

Katy,
My dd has terrible respiratory problems, probably asthma but diva are still not quite sure.
She does oodles of swimming and excercises because it is good for her.
Avoiding exercise with asthma ain't good.

Pagwatch · 06/03/2011 15:56

Diva?

Doctors.
She ends up in hospital a few times a year. We have been encouraged to get her as active as possible.

KatyMac · 06/03/2011 18:20

DD isn't nearly so bad but she has had a bad chest since Christmas & at the hospital a fortnight ago they said "FEV1 is down at 58% improving to 67% after 6 puffs of ventolin"

Which sounds awful to me

Original poster
ZZZenAgain · 07/03/2011 08:11

13 or so hours a week of sport is probably excellent if the dc is not feeling stressed by it (i.e. not able to do well what is expected etc). dd does nothing like that much. This year (year 5) it is 3 1/2 hours through winter on top of what school does - 2 hrs hockey, 1 1/2 other sport which involves running about a lot. In summer she drops th second one and has a sport which is more standing about gakking when you're not up to bat so I don't know how much valuable exercise it is really - more of a social thing and hockey twice a week so works out about the same. Used to do swimming but the pool is closed and have (quite gladly really speaking for myself) scrapped that this year.

Problem for me is that sport options are available at the times she has music lessons or orchestra so cannot do both, really am for the moment stuck with the amount she does, even if it isn't anywhere near enough. Logistical problem really. I wonder how parents with 3-4 dc cope if, like us, you have a 1 hour drive to get to everything. Some parents make a phenomenal effort by the sounds of it. I'm impressed

So interesting what other families do and what sports dc are involved in. I didn't even know that primary school dc were doing 10+ hours of sports, hadn't thought about it before really

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