What activities do you do with your children?

[sportyspice]

After the summer holidays i want to start afresh with a load of new activities for my 2 dd's aged 3 and just over 1 and just wondered what other people get up to and how much of your week is filled with pre-booked activities? I do loads of creative stuff with them but do you think it is necessary to have some sort of structure to make the week go round and provide some continuity?

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That's very true Twiglett about the continuity at school bit, i do like to have a few "free" days to do things on the hoof. How sweet that your ds thinks dd is his best toy!

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Warning- may sound a bit cynical here.... (playdates have sent me that way!)

Don't overbook things,( believing you are helping them develop) - what happens is they end up thinking that life is just one big entertainment factory, and become massively disappointed when they realise that actually it isn't.
IMHO, Kids SHOULD have get bored, and make up their own games.

Agree unicorn. Early boredom is a very good preparation for later boredom in life. Daydreaming time is very, very important

My daughter does do a ot of activities, tumble tots , swimming and dancing as well as her nursery two afternoons a week.

There was a discussion on Womans hour about this subject as we cram our children with clubs etc which some would argue is leaving them little time for pretend play or entertaining themselves. One of interviewees said she thought all these classes were for the benefit of the mother, ie she wanted to get out of the house or have a prolific child.

I can see this as i hate to be stuck in the house, however my dd loves all her activities and people often stop me to comment on how advanced and confident she is for her age ( 3 in a few weeks) I am sure this is because from a very young age she socialised so to speak. However she does have difficulty entertainig herself and it all costs me a fortune. I would not add any more to her list of activities and I try to ensure she has a few days a week at home with me.

Have to go with Unicorn too.Although it's a question of balance in the end. My dds do swimming lessons (essential as we live next to the river) and gym for one and ballet for the other. I think it's very important that they learn to deal with boredom. My 2 have a whingy 10 mins then somehow a game develops and off they go, this afternnon they were in their "spaceship" on an adventure-all imaginary, aided only by 2 cushions! Their best and longest games come from when they're bored.

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My dd spent most of the afternoon being a slug, by slithering about in a pillow case.

Not much really.
Dd2 starts school this september though so i am planning on taking Ds swimming or trampolining or something similar.
Feel guilty about it though as Dd2 has never done anything like that. I don't drive and have never been able to fit anything in for her that didn't involve dragging all 3 kids along.
Dd1 goes to ballet on saturday mornings.

For the first 2 weeks we did loads of stuff every day - ie swimming in the morning followed by meeting with friends on the beach for a picnic then a trip to the park. I think it was all too much and ds was often tired and grumpy. So for the last 2 days we have dossed around at home doing little, watching some tv, cuddling and reading. We are both more relaxed for it. I'm definately with unicorn on this, having found out the hard way, children need some down time.

Hey guys new to site really need some help with advise on Ritalin I know its off the topic but HELP !!!!

I guess I am lucky in a way as I have a soft play and sensory room built onto my home so my girls always have something to do but it gets hard when I don't get out of the house for 6 weeks

Hi autymom. There are a few Mumsnetters over on the Special Needs section who have a lot of experience and advice about Ritalin. You can start a new thread asking for advice there.

I think its about balance - I agree that yes children need some 'down time' but I think structured activities definitely have their place. My mum never took me anywhere during the school holidays and I was expected to entertain myself. I spent most of the time totally bored and fed up and couldn't wait for school to start up again. I don't have happy carefree childhood memories.....

aha handlemeC.. maybe your mum wasn't daft..
.. get bored over the holidays and then school is something fantastic to look forward to!!!

When I put DS1 to bed tonight I said "Tomorrow's Friday - what shall we do?" "Swimming Pool" was very excited reply - yes, I like to have a bit of structure but also feel that there is loads of time for free play etc around them. We don't do something every day and normally keep Thursdays free for going to library or shopping whatever. DS1 and 2 now really enjoy meeting up with their friends and I think that's good for them socially too. They're 2y7m and nearly 1 BTW

I think I am guilty of trying to do too much with DS (age 3). I'm not a very 'homey' person, I like to be out and about and socialising. I did decide about Easter time that i needed to cut down on activities and days out etc and I think it paid off until these summer holidays and now i've got carried away again. When I told DS where we were going today I could almost hear him saying 'no! no! no! I want to stay home!!' and I felt awful. Next week I have nothing planned/booked that cant be cancelled and we're going to spend much more time at home and re-discover some of his toys etc.
And if he gets a bit bored, then as someone said earlier on, it wont hurt him and he'll have to learn to find something to do to relieve his boredom. I heard someone say once that only boring children get bored!

Can someone please explain what DS means I am reading all the messages and am totally confused

ds= dear/darling son
dd= dear/darling daughter

If you click on Acronyms at the top of the page there's a whole list of abbreviations.

We both work f/t and DD is at school nursery 8-4.45 so is quite busy. She goes swimming twice a week after school and has a ballet/tap lesson on Saturday mornings. She asked to start the activities herself.

I agree it's important to strike a balance with activities. The holidays have been left free so we can do some nice whole-day outings and have days at home. In term time it's ballet and gym for one, play group and Joe Jingles for the other. I also think it's important not to have too many toys, as I think they stiffle imagination. DDs (4 and 2) have spent the last two days playing with a double duvet and some cushions on the sitting room floor. playing at putting dollies and teddies to bed, putting themselves to bed, being "squashing machines" - they've been really great. But when one of DD2's friends came round (who does have loads of toys) she just didn't get it. I think she thought DD2 was seriously wierd when she proposed getting under the duvet "because it will be really fun". I felt so sorry for DD2 but also proud!