Kids after school activites... when is enough?

loopyloouk

hi all

Just wondered what peoples opinions are:-

Two Girls 5 and 8

8 year old does Kick Boxing, swimming and Cheerleading total amount £ 72 PM

5 year old does the same £72 PM

Plus £13 a week for one day afterschool club as i am at Uni that day and have no one to collect them from school.

I have added that up at nearly £200 PM that seems so much but when is to much too much??

Do you draw a line and limit it?

WantToBeSE

If you can afford it, and they want to do the activities, I don't see a problem.

Person_one

When you can't afford it or its having too much impact on the rest of your life.

£200 per month is way too much if you're only earning £800, but its not a problem if you're netting 3K.

Do they enjoy the activities and can you afford them? Swimming is incredibly valuable of course, a basic life skill everybody should have if possible.

loopyloouk

I really want them to learn to swim or be strong swimmers as i nearly drowned when i was younger. The kick boxing is more that the world we live in can be such a nasty place that when they get to the terrible teenager years and anything happens that they can at least defend themself if they cannot walk away from the situation (for whatever reason).

It just seems so much every month to pay out, do most parents let there children do a lot of activities?

[Deleted User]

We pay £125 A YEAR membership at a David Lloyd gym for our son (5), and it provides unlimited after-school activities (includes football club), and cheap swimming lessons. I think we'll be signing up our 3 year old soon also.

£200 a month (£2400 a year) seems a bit steep; i guess this all adds up

Person_one

loopyloouk wrote: »

I really want them to learn to swim or be strong swimmers as i nearly drowned when i was younger. The kick boxing is more that the world we live in can be such a nasty place that when they get to the terrible teenager years and anything happens that they can at least defend themself if they cannot walk away from the situation (for whatever reason).

It just seems so much every month to pay out, do most parents let there children do a lot of activities?

It varies, some parents spend their lives driving to various clubs, some don't bother at all.

We went to brownies/scouts etc, then various orchestras/bands a few nights a week, we went swimming, and we each tried a few other things over the years too.

Do they actually enjoy the kick boxing? If not, I would't carry it on just for the reasons you've stated.

balletshoes

I agree that if you're struggling to afford other basics for your household, then the kids activities may be too much and you might want to cut back a bit.

I don't think there is a "too much" in non-monetary terms, as long as the kids are enjoying those type of activities and want to continue going.

Mojisola

loopyloouk wrote: »

Two Girls 5 and 8

8 year old does Kick Boxing, swimming and Cheerleading total amount £ 72 PM

5 year old does the same £72 PM

ringo_24601 wrote: »

We pay £125 A YEAR membership at a David Lloyd gym for our son (5), and it provides unlimited after-school activities (includes football club), and cheap swimming lessons. I think we'll be signing up our 3 year old soon also.

If you can shop around and get similar classes at a lower cost, that would be very MSE!

quidsy

Check that price in a year at David Lloyd, my son had membership of £10 a month & when he turned 6 they tried to triple it.

[Deleted User]

quidsy wrote: »

Check that price in a year at David Lloyd, my son had membership of £10 a month & when he turned 6 they tried to triple it.

Cheers, i'll keep an eye out! I think he'll be onto Beavers and school run activities shortly.

quidsy

I only used it for weekend whilst I did a work out, was great value for money at a tenner a month, not so much at 30!

He does Beavers, muay thai & tennis now over the whole week and I gave up going to the gym in exchange for hill walking