After school activities

kr15snw

Poppy9: I know all about competivness between parents! I used to ski on the plymouth race team which meant alot of travelling. Unfortnately my parents couldnt afford it so I used my paper round money to pay for lessons and to save to go to races (got a bit of help there though). But because of the cost my parents couldnt afford to come with me and luckily one of my friends parents was more than happy to adopt me on race weekends

But oh god some parents went completely over the top. One race in Wales was a 10 minute walk from the parking to the slope which meant carrying ALOT of heavy gear up the big hill. Most racers didnt carry a single thing as theyre parents would struggle on their behalf. And their were 4/5 year olds that had the TOP gear which doesnt come cheap. I got some top of the range skis from my parents as christmas / birthday presents. And the fact that I sunbathed between races didnt go down well atall! I should be watching other racers looking for tricky parts and to see where i can improve etc etc.

But luckily my parents didnt push me atall and it was great and I still love it now. Unfortunately know Im at uni I dont have the money to do any of this But it was fun while it lasted!

whereishergar

The youth theatre (usually attached to your towns main theatre) costs approximately £40 a term - cheap as chips, and a whole load cheaper than Stagecoach and by no means inferior. Children at the youth theatres get to perform in an annual production on the main theatre stage which in itself has the WOW factor. Needless to say waiting lists are usually in place, find out if your local theatre has this facility.

misty

My son has swimming lessons on a Friday.

He goes to football on a Saturday morning - the guys who coach the kids are great, patient, friendly but enthusiatic and encouraging. Occasionally, they have matches with other clubs and it is sad how seriously some of the other teams coaches and parents take it - yelling from the sidelines. They are only 5/6! He goes to football because I want him to have a good round but also as his friends go and he likes to see them even though he sees them 5 days a week at school.

When he gets to 6 he will start Beavers.

The football and Beavers are pretty inexpensive and teach them a number of skills whilst being fun. The swimming is pricier but the worth it.

I would like him to learn an instrument and he has said he would like to learn piano but I think at the moment he's doing enough. As much fun as these things are, I think they need time to just be at home rolling around the carpet and colouring etc instead of every day being jam packed.

When my son first started school, I was gutted so on the first half term, I organised activities for us to do most days. At the end of the week, I asked him if he had a good time. He said yes -when I asked what he enjoyed the most - he said staying at home playing with my toys with you - it was a lesson learnt!

Rachie_B

ooobedoo wrote: »

Blimey, If I left it to him, it would be a full time job and I would be bankrupt!!! lol!!!!!

I have discussed it with him and he wants to do everything..... He does trampolining, and after seeing the girls doing gymnastics he wants to be able to throw himself around like them but the waiting list is breathtaking........and not in a good way.

He is going to be 5 in Sept, and is soooooooooo ready for school and is getting bored so just want to try and expell some of this boredom.

aww he is only 4,theres plenty of time for him to be doing structured activities / clubs when he is a bit older

I think its important for children to be able to "expell their boredom " without having to go to a group activity, which costs money !

a play in the park ,run on the beach,riding his bike,ball games will all burn off energy,stop them being "bored" and are fun and free too !

yes its good to get them into a group if they are interested, but he is so young yet !

you say he is 5 in sept ? does he go to school at all ? part time ?

enjoy him while he is little, and encourage family activities too is important, IMO of course

inkie

Both ours had swimming, but youngest had to swap wehn I broke my foot falling after coming away from the pool - and has not gone back! I have used the time to prioritise, otherwise it just becomes a Taxi serveice with no free evenings for anything other than childrens acticities - so, they both do BP activities, one guides, the other brownies. And then we go for a family swim at the weekend.

ooobedoo

He attends nursery, he was full time but as I am on maternity leave the attendance isn't as much as it was, he loves both of the activities. He gets bored very easily, He missed going to primary school by 2 days. He is the oldest in nursery and is very intellectually frustrated, he is currently doing a massive thunderbirds jigsaw.

I think I worry about him as I am dyslexic, and wasn't diognosed till I was 27yrs old and am a definate underachiver.

black-saturn

I have the opposite problem. My daugthers won't do any afterschool activities no matter what I suggest to them. They used to go to Rainbow's and Brownies but came home one evening to and said they didn't want to go anymore (just after I'd bought the new uniforms - grrrrr). They wouldnt give me a straight answer as to why even though they had been going over a year and seemed to be enjoying it up until that moment. Then the younger one started ballet and decided she didn't want to go anymore. She was 7 when she started and the teacher put her in with a load of 3 year olds. When she passed the first exam she decided she didn't want to go anymore because the teacher wouldnt put her up into the class with the older children in it. I've suggested scouts, gymnastics, music classes, gardening club, dog training club and all sorts but all they seem to want to do is come home and sit with me all evening. Is this normal?

webbie

Mine do:
Tuesday - Brownies
Friday - swimming
Sat am - one goes to drama

We used to do something every night - but there is no "emergency" time for homework, school projects - or even having a friend round to tea.

They have always loved their activities and would do more if i would take them - but as they constantly beg for friends for tea after school, I chose to let them do this.

Carmina_Piranha_3

mine is ten and does more now than he did when he was the age of your son. back then it was just swimming and he even found that a chore after he started school so we had a family swim at the weekend instead of him having lessons. i don't think he added any of his current activities until the age of 8, although he tried gymnastics but gave up.

he does a lot at school. drama club, homework club (just an excuse for surfing the net with his best friend), music club (he did french club but swapped to music) and he goes to boys brigade too. he started having swimming lessons but the only lesson available is clashing with a youth club he prefers so he's chosen the youth club. i can't take him to different swimming lessons because my toddler won't understand why he can't go in the pool - it's bad enough waiting the half hour of lesson time and then us all getting in the pool together so no way could i take him without us getting into the pool afterwards.

spud is finding that he really wants all of his after school activities but it's not leaving him enough time to play with his best friend after school. dropping the swimming will give him the friday to play with his mate, they can only play togethe runtil 5 or 6 and not at weekends so he doesn't want to be overloaded with after-school activities.

is there a church youth club that will take him at his age?

i know some people say it's best not to have too many activities but if the child really wants to do them i think it's good to get out of the house for a bit - my son probably only does so many activities to get some time away from my toddler

themmackas

My youngest son (10) does a lot of activities and it costs us a fortune but i wouldnt have it any other way, mondays are street dancing and then after its football training, Tuesdays he does a diablo club (a bit like juggeling) Wednesday are now free because he has gone up to Scouts from Cubs. Thursdays he does tap dancing and fridays he goes to scouts. During the summer on Sat morninging he did golf lessons but he isnt doing this this year. Sundays are football matches. I really dont mind him doing all these activities and im sure that once he hits his teens most of these activities will be given up. I never force him to do anything although he did have a hard decision when he had to choose between swimming and tap dancing. I think that the more activities that he can try now the better. My eldest son who is now 14 doesnt do any activities but stays healthy by going out with his mates on his bike. I like to know where my boys are and I would hate them to be wondering around the streets with nothing to do.