Anyone else NOT have their kids in lots of activities?

[Pembo]

No my boys do not play soccer.
No they do not play t-ball.
No they do not play basketball.
Yes they took swimming. Now they are done.
Yes oldest was in Scouts. The year is about up.

This summer we are not taking any classes, not joining any teams, not doing anything organized.

We plan to go to the pool, go to Cedar Point, and have fun.

Is there anyone else out there like us??????

DH has had 3 different people give him their laundry list of activities their kids are involved in. It makes his head spin~these kids are so busy.

 

[Ella2]

Us too. My kids are involved in a couple of YMCA activities (monthly meetings) and that's it. No sports, no after-school music, no dance. We've done some of those but have dropped them over the years. I also don't envy those moms who are constantly driving kids to different activities and whose weekends revolve around sports games. We like to be a little more spontaneous in what we do, and that works just fine for our family.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I have long said that kids need a chance to just "be". Time to play with all of those toys they seem to get nowadays. Time to spend having dinner with the whole family on a regular basis. Maybe a family game night. More importantly, they deserve to not be the victims of harried parents who are trying to run multiple kids all over creation to the latest activity or party.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Kate will only have swimming lessons this summer. (If that!) The rest of the time she and I are gonna go to the Duluth Zoo, have picnics, maybe go watch grampa blow up some rocks at his mine.......nothing much planned at all! We like it that way.

 

[tinaluis]

My oldest DD was in tae-kwon do but finished and decided she wanted to pass on another term/class. She also took soccer last year but decided she was done with that after one term/class. This summer we plan to sit outside in the sunshine, swim in our backyard pool, play board games, go to the zoo, eat ice cream and just enjoy the weather. No girls scouts, dance, t-ball, basketball, volleyball, etc. that all of her neighborhood friends are all involved in. We like to take each day as it comes and not have so many things to do that we're always rushing from here to there.

 

[Robinrs]

I have one friend who feels it's a "social thing" to have her kids in just about EVERYTHING!

I'd think it was okay if the kids looked like they enjoyed it but they DON'T. One summer I asked her if she would just ask them if they wanted to do all these things and they sheepishly told her "no". Did she listen, NO. Just last week she read me the laundry list of things she put them in.

 

[Jolie C]

Another kid not enrolled in anything this summer lives at my house!!

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

My DS plays soccer that is it. In the Spring and the Fall. During the school year he is in chorus at school which meets before school once a week. During the summer, we vacation as a family and he and his sister go to one week of vacation bible school at church. DD will be old enough this fall to start soccer and it is what she wants...we told her she had to choose one activity and it is what she chose. I think having too many activities going on at one time is just too stressful for not only the kids but the family as a whole....well for our family anyways. I try to only have our kids involved in one activity a season....too much stress otherwise.

 

[alabamaalan]

Nope..my daughter is 6 1/2 and lots of her friends are in dance, gymnastics, etc.

She comes home and until she asks for things, I'm not volunteering her.

When she asks, we'll discuss it......

 

[binny]

Cam is in Scouts and a church program.
Kaylee goes to Preschool and has choir at church.
Karissa has therapy ( which takes plenty of time in and of itself)


Thats it I dont believe in overscheduling my kids either. They need to be kids while they can

 

[Mishetta]

My DS8 is only in Piano lessons this season. We've done the insane schedule of basketball, soccer & Tiger Cubs all in one school season & that's the last time we're doing that. We were always so stressed. So we told him that he could pick only ONE thing & he chose Piano! Fine by me!

 

[CEDmom]

Originally posted by alabamaalan
Nope..my daughter is 6 1/2 and lots of her friends are in dance, gymnastics, etc.

She comes home and until she asks for things, I'm not volunteering her.

When she asks, we'll discuss it......

ITA, besides it just means more $ for WDW .

 

[kasar]

We have 2 DDs that want to do everything. If it was up to them they'd be gone all day, every day.

We limit them to one thing a season as well (learned that one the hard way - nobody needs to be on an "elite" travel soccer team when they're 8 years old, in my opinion). They play all kinds of sports which is important to our family because my DH coaches them and they have fun together. But schoolwork comes first and if there is a conflict, they know the solution.

This summer we're doing absolutley NOTHING! We belong to a pool and they may do swim team but it's really low pressure and more a social thing than anything. If they do, great - we're there anyhow. If not, that's fine too. Ah, summer.

 

[newholiday]

DS isnt involved in anything and wont be this summer.
When Im home wknds (and either Mon or Fri) we'll be off on day trips if not away for a mini-vaca. We currently renewed an aquarium membership and have a membership to the farm too.
During the wk he can have a few days to himself to chill. Currently he enjoys painting LOTR figures so I may get him a new set or two. I'll have him read and as long as its not school work he can read along to a tape. Will get him out to walk.

 

[Disney Ella]

My DDs go to dance one day a week, which they love (their idea) and take swimming lessons on Saturdays (my idea). During the summer, we don't plan anything.

A few jobs back I had a secretary with two boys in soccer, traveling soccer and baseball. She believed that kids should be forced into sports until they were 12 because they couldn't really decide which sport they liked until then. These poor kids had some kind of practice every day of the week yearlong. One day the ten-year-old called her at work and said "I'm tired of going to practice. Can't I just stay home and play?" She let him stay home that one day and then it was right back to the practices and long car trips on the weekends to soccer games. I think it was more important to her to be able to say "Oh yes, the boys are in this and this and this" then to really care about what they wanted to do.

 

[Planogirl]

Our son has no organized activities whatsoever during the school by his own choice. I want to get him into swimming this summer and maybe a few short camps for basketball or gymnastics.

 

[JESW]

I have two children - DD5 & DS9. DD takes gymnastics. DS takes nothing - not even after school activities - his choice. This summer I am putting them in summer camp two mornings 9 - 12 so I can get shopping done in peace. They did it last year and loved it. 6 hours a week isn't much. We have already been making plans for the things we want to do together - like go feed the ducks, ride the train, go to the zoo, etc. I let them make their choices for activities. I also believe in letting kids just be kids - they need more time to just play.

Jill

 

[CamColt]

I dont want to get caught up in a ton of stuff either.
Right now my 4yo is getting ready to start soccer. He will go once a week for 45 minutes, for 8 weeks. My 7yo is in soccer and DH coaches. On average they have 1 practice and 1 game a week for about 8 weeks(on weeks where there is a game midweek, theres no practice). That ends in about 4 more weeks and tball is going to be starting in a few weeks so they may overlap for a week or so. Tball ends by the end of June and then hes "off" until soccer starts up againin the fall.

 

[AmazingGrace]

My kids are involved in AWANAS at church and that's it. I'm a strong believer in free play, and it's payed off. My kids have these amazing creative games that they play, and their imaginations run wild.

 

[disykat]

School, church, home - that's pretty much it around here. They do get dragged to my volunteer stuff occasionally though. They usually do a one week sports camp in the summer and I teach them piano at home. We have done summer swim lessons before too. I'd rather have them do some of the extracurricular in the summer - they have enough homework etc. during the school year to keep them plenty busy.