Best and worst hobbies / interests for young children

[captainproton]

I want to give my children (currently 4,3 and 6 months) a variety of hobbies to try. Mainly because I never did, because I'm a fat mum who wants her kids to get active and not end up like me (I hate sport). I also might harbour slight tiger mum tendencies and I'm thinking of music or second language lessons, but not sure if my kids are too young or if they will find it boring (I will not make them do stuff they hate).

What hobbies, extra-curricular activities / lessons do your kids do and what are the benefits from them? Is there anything I should avoid I.e. Costs a bomb and not value for money.

Eldest does gymnastic and swimming lessons and 3 year old due to do same come September.

Mine (9,6) do swimming and music. Oldest now moved on to life saving (but dropped the swimming) and has guitar lessons at school. Younger one attends a group music lesson where they do singing, percussion, ukelele, keyboard, recorder over 3 yrs (YR-Y2) and then I hope he'll choose an instrument. Once they start school there are often clubs they can sign up to for a term to try different things - ours offers gardening, multi sports, rugby, football, chess, dance - and these are free. We try to find ways they can try out lots of things, for example taster sessions in the school holidays, and then see what sparks their interest. My youngest is 2 and doesn't do anything structured but we attend a weekly group where there is music/ drama/ sensory activities and a free- play gymnastics session.

Mine do swimming, uniformed groups (Brownies,Beavers), and eldest does choir, chess and clarinet, middle does football.

Youngest does nothing yet, he's 3.

Uniform groups are fabulous value for money, in the region of £30/term and do a variety of stuff as well as offering badges to complete at home if they want to. Favourite response to "I'm bored" in this house is "get your badge book and crack on"