How many hobbies/activities do your DC do? Where do you draw the line?

[reddaisy]

DD, 6, does ballet, Rainbows, French club (at school during lunch) and swimming.

She has now asked to do football and learn the piano!

I want her to have interests and she has stuck at all of the ones she already does and is doing well, she never asks not to go so I have no problems there.

The football she could do for no extra cost (she currently goes to a CM that evening and could do the activity instead for the same price) but I just read a thread which said how expensive piano lessons can be which shocked me!

The hobbies don't take over our life, yet, but I just wondered what others do and how do you decide what to let them try? I said to DD that if she wanted to try piano she might have to drop one of her other hobbies (apart from swimming which is a must) and she got upset because she loves them all apparently!

WhenTheDragonsCame it seems that teachers vary in their requirements, but for a complete beginner then a keyboard should be enough. We have an old synth bought for about £20 that my 12 year old uses and it's fine at his level (pre grade 1). He's just learning to play the right notes at the right time and to coordinate his hands and he doesn't need an expensive instrument to do that. Of course in the fullness of time you need to invest in at least a proper electronic piano (we also have a full-size yamaha electronic piano which my teenager uses - it is still a lot smaller than an acoustic piano and she can plug headphones in if she wants to practice at unsocial hours).

Will your child have time to practise the piano in addition to all her other activities? Unless she can fit this in as well, there is no point in taking lessons.

Clobbered it is just an idea at the moment but if did start her having lessons I would probably stop a couple of her other ones. She isn't really interested in youth club or rainbows anyway.