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?

Synchro swimmint? It does have a competitive side, but many girls just do it recreationally and perform in displays. It's a great sport for all around fitness . Swimming will improve, as long as she can swim safely in deep water and do a couple of length most clubs would take her into their beginners group.

Horse riding and care. It doesn't really feel like a sport, especially when you first start, and tends to be good for perfectionists (at non-competitive levels).

Rambling
Hillwalking.
Long distance cycle rides with a friendly club (get to know all the good cake shops in your area!)

dotdotdot... how much does the horse riding cost?

If she likes riding her bike, but you want something a bit more structured than just going for a ride check out the British Cycling Go Ride website and see if there is a club near you. Go Ride are structured kids skills/coaching sessions, usually run weekly through cycling clubs. In our club many kids also race, but this is by no means expected. DS (6) does the odd race but not many. Some children don't do any. Also have a look at local Sky Rides - organised bike rides - they do various distances and have family ones, closed road ones, ladies only (Breeze Rides), beginners etc.

Boxing/kickboxing?

We have some younger girls at our club and they come for the fitness and self defense stuff. They learn lots of technical stuff and work on pads but we don't have them sparring at that age at all.

Orienteering? Lots of public courses in parks, and if you go to meets then you could do the same course together. I liked it as not only could good mapreading and planning make up for being less fast at running or tackling undergrowth, but also all courses would finish at the same point, so everyone would get clapped and cheered for finishing and no-one would know how hard your course had been or how long you had taken.

Squash is another one - if she could practice for a while alone and get the hang of it, then you could knock about a bit. I never managed a rally in tennis despite years of lessons, but can enjoy a game of squash.

Dance groups or circuit training classes could also work.

These are all great suggestions. I liked squash too. If I can book a court I'll see if she likes that. It would be good for keeping up hand eye coordination. Orienteering good suggestion also. Zumba a possibility too if I can find a child friendly class. We do already walk a fair bit as we have a dog and she likes scooting. I might get her a bigger wheeled scooter for her birthday as she's out growing the micro scooter and often uneven pavements trip her up.

My ten year old did fencing, does golf, martial arts, swimming & has just started diving. He is loving diving - they just need to be able to swim to the side.

He is very quiet & quite an anxious child but diving involves always having something a bit scary but achievable. 2 weeks ago he wouldn't jump off the 3m board, now he does it backwards - that sort of thing.

I know you can't do it everywhere but if you have a diving pool near you I'd recommend it.

Whilst looking for somewhere to book squash courts I came across a skating ckub, where they teach you to roller skate properly, moving onto artistic skating. I'm adding that to my list. I now have a list of about 9 or 10 things, some organised activities, some we can do freely the two of us. I think this could be fun working through it until we find her thing (or not!)

She might conclude it is easier to go back to the team sport than humour me with my list

My DS tends to drop out of most sports activities he has done cricket this year however I think he does better been sent out to play on his scooter, rollerblading,

Re swimming..I know she doesn't want to do the lessons but our local pool does an over 8's session with inflatables.

Cubs also the always burn off some steam whether it is outside or indoors... I have heard Brownies are a bit hit miss some are very crafty.

Just to note - Junior Parkrun is on a Sunday and not a Saturday, so wouldn't clash with drama.

My two did afterschool judo at primary and it really helped their coordination. There was no fighting involved, more like a silent dance routine which stops before contact is made. Equal numbers of boys and girls. Lots of calories burned in the 2x 1hr sessions a week, too! Displays and competitions were offered but not expected.

My DS does not like the pressure of competitive/team sports.

He has discovered fencing and archery.

Let her try a fee things but expect her to choose at least 1 sport maybe?

Or how about horse riding? Can be done at a very non competitive level too.

Horse riding is really dear around here - £16 for half an hour lesson in a group and £27 for an hour. Individual lessons are about twice as much.

Best way is to "earn" the lessons by working in the stables. I know various kids who do this.

Bit hardcore really! All that mucking out.

Yes, activities can be bloody expensive!

Ah - yes, we do have a Sunday morning Junior Park run. I'm not sure she'd be keen to run on her own. She's not got the build for distance running (more a sprinter, short bursts of high energy), so unlikely to be something she feels the love for, however, if we could run together, we could both be doing it for the sake of keeping fit. My other daughter, however, would probably love it. DD2 would like it even less if DD1 did it.

I'll take a look a fencing. Maybe it would suit her.

There is nothing stopping you running Junior Parkrun with her, plenty of parents do.

DS2 is really uncompetitive and hates team sports. He is also a middle child sandwiched in between really competitive DS1 and DD. But he enjoys Parkrun as the volunteers are really encouraging whether you are first finisher or at the back of the pack with the tailrunner. He is gradually improving his (quite slow) time and doing some exercise every week without the pressure of playing for a team or running competitively.