These are just some of the activities that mums ferry their children to on a weekly basis. In the case of some of them, like dancing, it can actually mean three or four trips, as the basic repertoire of dance morphs into Tap, Ballet, Street and Acro (-batics), all on different days.
And it's expensive. £40 for a batch of 10 Swimming lessons at the local leisure centre. Similar amount for Gymnastics. You are talking roughly £4 per class minimum.
2 children with 3 activities a week. That's £24 per week. And that's before the paraphernalia that comes with it. For dancing it's £50 if your darling is going to perform one dance in the annual show; £100 if she's in two dances. It covers the costume costs; which is funny because I distinctly remember the 80s when mums found a needle and thread themselves and rustled up the costumes for a few pounds. And not only do you pay for the classes, and now the costume; you also pay for the privilege of coming to the show, 3 nights on the trot, not just to see darling perform, but to conduct your role of stagehand, getting them dressed and ready at the right time for the right dance piece.
Whatever the activity, be it football (boots, the latest kit (the 'right' kit), transport to tournaments and trips to watch the professionals), horse riding (riding boots, protective helmets and body armour, and... if you are not careful... an actual pony!?) or whatever takes your fancy; it's an incredibly expensive exercise to give our children the opportunity of discovering where their talents lie. And I wonder where the limit is?3 nights a week of activities after school? 4 nights? When they are only 6 years old? Are our children going to burn out before they hit secondary school?
What do you think? How many activities are too many? And at what age?
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I think the difference is these days there is not only such a huge range of activities but also they are encouraged to start from a much younger age. There are school activities like music lessons and choir during lunch breaks, and an abundance of organised extra curricular opportunities after school. Children these days seem to have less and less time to just to 'be', and choose what they want to do on the spur of the moment be it go and play football or crash in front of the telly.
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one. Especially if the child(ren) REALLY wants to join in.
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Thanks for the comments DoD and Dailymum. It's such a tricky one. We've dropped the dancing just so our eldest isn't exhausted at the weekend.
ReplyDeleteWe aren't at that stage yet, but I can only speak from my experience as a kid. I think being able to try different things helps you to find that one thing you really like (or sometimes two). We tended to try something for a while and when we were no longer enjoying that, we'd move on to something else instead of doing it all at once. I also think that a lot of my Mom's time was spent taxiing us around (I ran track and played football, my sister played football, and my brother played baseball - all overlapping seasons) and so she wouldn't have time to cook and we wouldn't have time to be together as a family. I will definitely encourage The Duchess to get involved when she's older, but I think you've got to weigh what else you may be sacrificing if they are involved in too many things.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I feel like we loose time to just 'be' sometimes.
DeleteAfter reading this, I wonder it's not surprising that so many kids today are hanging around on street corners. Parents on low income can't possibly afford to let their kids use these clubs. Perhaps some of them should be made free or at least a lot cheaper.
ReplyDeleteCJ x
That is very true. I think they still learn to swim in school (?) so at least that one is there for all. But free parks and places for kids to practice their football and run around are vital. And actually... we could be dancing around and learning the recorder at home instead of going to class. There is a culture of paying someone else to do it I think..when you can. And I am not convinced its necessary better at 6 yrs. When can kids just be kids?
DeleteI so agree with you, kids needs to relax at home rather than always being pushed to do more and more. My 3 and 5 year-olds do gymnastics (at 2 different times and already that's a challenge) and the 5 year old does football at the week-end and that again is a burden for the whole family, so I don't think we will do it next term. Of course, it would be nice if they could try all those fantastic activities but it's just impossible. A good option is the holiday camps (not cheap either) where they can try lots of sports and activities and then decide on what they want to do during the term.
ReplyDeleteI want to be a good mum but I also want to enjoy quality time with my children and that's probably more important for their developement than mastering violin or football.
Good luck on deciding what's best!
The hardest bit is giving up mum daughter time because daughter wants to go and do activities that her friends are doing. Peer pressure already! We are definately maxed out with gymnastics (Different times) and, swimming. And that doesn't sound much on paper, but it wipes out 40% of our weekday evenings. So I need to not feel guilty about not doing the dancing too.
DeleteLuck I definately need. Thank you, and thanks for your thoughts. They help.
It's crazy. If only they could try some of these things in school hours. Home time should be just that, time to do your own things, including time to be bored and discover your creative side.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the school as to what is provided. I heard on the radio about a 9yr old doing line dancing in P.Ed. And I think many offer training on a musical instrument from Yr 2; but I don't know if that's free?! I agree they need some time to chill out, and I think it helps their concentration if they aren't always running from place to place. I used to spend hours just playing with Lego.
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