DD, age 9, doesn't want to do any sports which involve competition. Any other suggestions for something she might enjoy that will help her keep fit? What does your 9 YO dd do?

[brytte]

For the past year my DD2 went weekly to practice and play a team sport but she lost enthusiasm towards the summer and now is adamant she won't join again this year. That's fine but in the past she's also shunned playing any racket sports, swimming beyond competence level, gymnastics and dance. She does play an instrument and goes to a drama club, so I don't think she needs a team sport for good social skills. However, I would like her to do something outside of school PE that is exercise related.

Her school is not very big on sport and her peer group not particularly geared towards those kinds of extra curricular activities. I suspect it would be easier to get her to join something if her friends were too but that's not likely.

Does anyone have any ideas for something else I could suggest? It would be fun for me and her to do something together but I don't know of any classes or formal activities that are run for parents along with older children. I live in quite an urban area so cycling or running with her would not be easy. Or is it okay for her to do nothing for a few years and hope she finds something she enjoys at secondary school?

I was going to say swiming, but I see she has discounted that.
Would she do something like couch to 5 km with you, and then park runs at the weekend?
Martial arts?

Lifesaving? My very non-competitive dd is older but has been in a lifesaving club since she was 8. We're by the sea so surf lifesaving, but our local pool also has a rookie lifesavers club for 8 plus, don't know if that is common.

YY also to martial arts - dd loved a judo taster they did at primary, sadly there wasn't a club nearby for her to continue.

Is there a park run near you?

My 9yo ds cycles (on road, with us, 20-30 miles), does parkrun with me, and is starting canoe club in September.

Have a look to see if there is a Sustrans route near you. Before ds was road riding we did off road trails which were fun, though it involved driving to them

Climbing? Do you live anywhere near water and do you have sea Scouts?

There's lots of road cycling clubs that do group rides - but not races, might be worth seeing if they have youth groups.

Horse riding ,costly but great fun .

Do you have anything like circuit training for kids? Ds did a class at our local sports centre called Junior Fitness, he loved it because it was completely non-competitive. Alas it clashed with school clubs in the summer term and the guy has stopped running it, I'm hoping he might come back in the winter.

My dd does park runs, rollerblading and, after doing a week long course on a dry ski slope during the holidays, is going to start ski lessons. She also does swimming but not competition. I found a class which does diving, life saving and work with flippers and snorkels.

She is not keen on competitive team sports either.

Depends if you want her out of the house or not. DD and I do yoga, pilates and dance stuff on YouTube - we put it up on the TV and keep fit in the living room when I can be arsed

Must it be sport? What about dancing? Irish, Morris, ballroom, ballet, tap, modern, all good exercise.

Climbing? Dancing, karate, cycling

Go for long walks at the weekend.
Some leisure centres have gyms for 8+ years old.
Trampolining.
Ice skating.
Skipping.
Aerobics.
Yoga.
Golf.
Circus skills.
Synchronised swimming.
Rhythmic gymnastics.
Climbing/bouldering.
Roller skating.
Horse riding/mucking out stables.
Kayaking.

If you are really desperate and she doesn't feel too old soft plays are actually really good exercise!

Did I just hear someone saying that Irish dancing is not competitive????

climbing?

Geocaching

Karate? Our club does classes for families, and adults and children train together.

Climbing, trampolining, kayaking, riding or sailing. Look for taster sessions and see what she enjoys. Plus get her into cubs, a good one will do lots of activities.

I'd suggest parkrun if you have one near you (they exist in many urban areas), and you can do it as well. It's as competitive as you make it - and rewards participation (t-shirts for the 5k runs, if you have a junior parkrun they get wristbands).

Rookie lifeguard?

Sorry in the delay in coming back to my thread. Thank you everyone who has taken time to make suggestions.

Some of the things suggested I have looked into but aren't possible because the classes take place on Saturday mornings which clashes with drama club. For us that rules out parkrun and a few other activities. I think horse riding is just too expensive for us, sadly.

She's not a very compliant, 'can do' child and lacks stamina as well as having some anxiety issues (perfectionist tendencies, if she can't do it well, she doesn't want to do it at all) I realise this makes it more important to keep her doing something but I need to set her up for success. Climbing, canoeing, sailing would not be her type of thing, plus her swimming is not that strong. Luckily she'll do deep water swimming at school in Years 5 and 6.

I'm drawn towards trampolining class though as I think we might have a friend whose daughter would be interested in that. I'm also hoping she will join the school netball club, which starts in Year 5, although mostly only Year 6s get the chance to play on the team. I was going to say that there are no longer any group bike rides in our area but I've looked at the Skyride website and they are starting up again, take place on Sundays and could be the perfect activity for me and DD2 to do together.

How about Zumba? I've seen lots of yiunger girls in a local one

My dd just loves zooming about on her bike, it's a good area for cycling here and she can just go out for short rides.

Fencing? It is ultimately competitive but involves proper study of technique, it's a skill thing which repays constant and careful attention. Lots of people do it who hate team sports.

skiing?

My son can't cope with competitions, but they ski for fun and learn tricks etc, he loves it.