Anyone else NOT have their kids in lots of activities?

[momof2inPA]

My kids might take swimming lessons this summer, and we might get Geauga Lake passes. They do plenty during the school year, so we just like to relax during summer.

 

[PenskeSth1]

My kids DD(15) and DS(6) have never been involved in anything. They enjoy their 4 wheelers and the pool at home.

I have been going to school nights for the last 2 years so it would of been difficult to get them to activities anyway. Although I feel as though I have jipped them alot.

Recently DD has said she would like to play volleyball at school and DS wants to play little league baseball.

I guess now that I am almost done with school,(July) I cannot wait to go watch them do something that they would like. Be one of them obnoxiously loud srceaming parents. (Not really)

 

[Tuffcookie]

Hi Barb! No, you are not alone. I want our time together to be relaxing, not running in circles from one activity to another! Besides, we have 2 dogs and I don't think it's fair to have pets and leave them alone after we come home from work/school. The only thing I plan on signing DS up for this summer is church camp.

TC

 

[KimRaye]

Another Mom with 'unplanned' activities for 2 DKids. And, don't think I haven't been asked, "What's Kelly doing this summer?", because I have. She's going to enjoy SUMMER, people! Like myself. Most probably 1 week of SCHEDULED (!) Vacation Bible School and, DS has signed up for summer school Driver's Ed so, even our 'planned' family vacation has to wait until those things are over.

I have 2 cousins with 5 kids between them and, 4/5 are girls and, we like to just 'meet up' and visit the zoo, go to Kiddieland, etc. whenever we please, when the weather's nice.

Sometimes, I have a hard time fitting in the night-time PTL/school functions...they seem to think our kids are nightowls or something and, expect bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next AM!

Now, if either or both of my kids expressed a desire to do more than play in the park, ride a bike, roller skate or, FILM (16yoDS is really into FILMING right now), I would be right there!

Nice to know that I'M not alone.

 

[WhenUwishUponAstar]

I have a ds 5 (see pic below) and we just started organzed stuff. Not a whole lot, he is playing soccer for 8 weeks this spring and taking swim lessons. I mainly wanted the swim lessons to get him ready for our trip to WDW as we had a scare at blizard beach last year. After our return from WDW there will be no activities until church camp which is a day camp for a week(june) and then he will have vbs which is an evening camp for a week.(july) Other than that it's me and DS by the pool and playing tennis and golf together. I've also been teaching him to roller skate that is a hoot. We ride our bikes and play video games (I'm just a big kid). I am going to allow him to play soccer in the fall for 8 weeks but that's about it. If he shows interest in a winter sport I will consider it because he really does love sports and I just can't find a reason not to let him play if he really really wants to. I will have to decide on soccer in the spring depending on if I can do it with a newborn and how much DH is able to commit to it.

 

[snoopy]

The rule in our house is one activity per kid per season. Right now the activity is art class for the oldest and t-ball for the youngest.

 

[robsmom]

DH and I have been having a debate with ourselves about activities and this thread is great to see all your opinions. DS 5 has been in Karate for about 6 months and our contracted just ended. We met with the Shihan to dicuss continuing and our only options are a masters program or leadership program. these are 18 month contracts with a total cost of $3000 or $3500 depending on our choice. It is for 3 days a week of class, a monthly seminar. In addition, every few months there will be a belt exam and tournaments. It honestly is not about the money because we could afford it if we wanted but I don't think a 5 year old needs 3 days a week of anything. DS is playing T ball right now which is one night plus saturdays. We have been doing swim lesseson on saturdays (skipped this session for T-ball) and will pick that back up again. So for us this would have meant that he was in day care all day and had activities 4 nights a week and on saturdays. The delimna has been that he likes the karate. He doesn't love it but he does like it so I feel a certain guilt about whether we are stopping it because he is over schedueled or because we are overscheduled. I thought maybe if I didn't work, I would be fine with activities everyday. Anyway, sorry so long

 

[zurgswife]

My kids aren't invovled in much...sometime I feel guilty but others I enjoy having my weekends free and we always have dinner as a family....

 

[TEENEE]

My ds is going to England and France for 19 days, my dd is going to Girl Scout camp for a week and gs meetings. I think summers are for relaxing and having family fun. I know a family that schedules so much for their son that the boy ends us sick every summer. His parents are too blind to see that this poor child gets run down every summer and thats why he gets so sick. I say let them be kids!

 

[disneyjunkie]

My son is in his school's Drama Club. That's it for us. He wanted to give baseball or football a try. They didn't work out for us. For some strange reason the coaches get upset when I tell them that in our house school comes first.

 

[Cindy B]

Yep, I know how that is.

So many kids, with a laundry list of activities.

So far my kids are in vacation bible school for four days, and a three week stint at township camp.

We ahve the one activity per kid rule as well. We have had that rule for a long time.

 

[Blondie]

Pembo, we are exactly like you!

My boys played soccer for two years and grew tired of it. So we left it at that and they haven't played since.

We don't push them to do anything. We introduce them to something, and if they show little or no interest, then it becomes a closed book.

I understand that some kids may need a little push, but we don't force any kind of activity on them. They'd rather play basketball and soccer informally with their group of friends than an organized thing. And that's fine with us.

My 14 y.o.'s best friend played soccer from the time he could walk until last year. He just decided he had enough and wanted a break. The mother almost had a nervous breakdown! She didn't know what to do with herself! She really went off the deep end for a while there...she seems to have accepted it now, however. I guess she has no choice!

 

[NMAmy]

Imagine my surprise when I ended up with a daughter who is a jock. I've always been terrible at sports--this is definitely something she gets from her dad. I am supportive even though it bores me silly. She is allowed to do one activity per school semester (she's 13). She was on the school basketball team last fall and after that ended, she played in a basketball league. I made the huge mistake last spring of letting her take a part in the school musical and play volleyball. It was only for 4 weeks and volleyball consisted of one night a week--so I thought, "hmm...no big deal." Little did I know that the musical practice would be EVERY night after school! It was a nightmare.

She knows that she must maintain her good grades to continue her activity and her coaches have always been very supportive of this. Luckily, I only have the one kid so I don't have to worry about the constant running here and there! I've seen other moms running back and forth between girls basketball and boys football games on the weekends. Ugh.

 

[believe]

DDs have not interest in baseball, basketball or soccer. They do take gymnastics, but we break during the spring and most of the summer. They are now asking to go back and I told them in late summer we will go back.

 

[goofy4tink]

A very timely thread. Dd and I just had the 'have to make choices' discussion last night. She's 10 1/2 now. Schoolwork is getting more intense and she needs to focus on that. Up to now she has done basketball, children's choir, girl scouts, irish step class and swimming. Next year she really wants to focus on her swimming and joing the swim team. That is a huge time committment!! Looks like scouts won't make the cut. Children's choir also. She loves taking part in the childrens theater group but that is time consuming for about 3 months. So, she has to make a choice for this fall.

As far as this summer goes....she has one activity a day for July. A different thing each week. Maybe tennis for 1 1/2 hrs for one week. Lacrosse clinic for 2 hr. for 3 days. Kidzart for 2 hrs for a week. Basketball for 4 hrs one week. And swim class 1 hr. once a week. Then a week on Cape Cod with just us and then a week in WDW. SHe's the kind of kid who needs to do a little something each day. She has a terrific imagination and would entertain herself for hours. But she needs to work on some social skills also. Being basically an only child (her db and ds are much much older!) she doesn't always have the skills she should have. We have cut back her activities from last summer. She wants to do more now but I've told her no, she can do one thing a day and no more. And then she must have time off with just family time.

 

[RitaZ.]

That's us too!

I think a lot of parents feel that their children have to participate in several activities in order for them to feel that they are doing a "good" job as parents. I have heard several friends say that their children are exposed to many activities that they weren't able to do as children, thus the children will become "well-rounded" individuals. For some moms, it's a badge of honor to be constantly on the go, driving each kid all over the place to the point of running themselves ragged.

We did the baseball thing one season, DS asked to play and he was in Scouts at the same time. It was a nightmare and DS grew tired of it real fast. Never again to that craziness!

This summer, they each will be taking an art class at our local museum for 1 week, maybe 2. It's really $$, so it may be one 1 week. Our older DS has been going for almost 2 years and takes a cartooning class, his friends have now joined the class and they are having a great time together. My 3 childre are all artistically inclined (they didn't get it from me) and I'm glad they have found something that they truly enjoy. Then we are going on our summer vacation, I'm soooooo looking forward to that.

Each family is different and what one family may find stressful, another family enjoys.

 

[aprincessmom]

DD (8) goes to ballet twice a week. That's it and it's her choice. I tell her she can pick two things to do and she wanted only ballet. Next year she thinks she might add piano lessons...she's still thinking about it.

She likes having time to do stuff she likes to do...reading, crafts, playing with kids in the neighborhood, going on day trips, etc.

 

[Mskanga]

I did cheerleading for one summer season with my oldest dd , and she hated it, she also did brownies at her school and she did not like it either but that was because of the leader who did nothing else but to yell at them. The following year she decided she didn't want to do anything at all so I didn't sign her up for anything. She instead decided when school started , to sign up for intramurals right after school two days a week in the same school. She likes that and that's what she does.
My this year first grader has no activities after school but if next year she wants to join one activity after school , she will be allowed to. I do not like to compromise weekends with anything, weekends are family time.
In the summer , we get season passes to go to the local waterpark and a lot of our friends do the same thing, my kids get to exercise and socialize there with friends, they have a blast doing that and so do I. We also take fun trips to different places , and often I hear other mothers saying , Oh we can't go , joey has a game on that day. I do what floats my boat , and this is what works for me.

 

[sue1013]

Not only is each family different each child is also. My daughter did gymnastics from age 4 through HS and never had the desire to do anything else. DS is a different kid wanted to try everything and did. I don't know if I could have survived a summer with nothing for DS to do he needs to be kept busy. Now that he is 17 he's still the same way and does better in school when he's busy than when he's got down time. For him the more scheduled he makes better use of his time. DD who is now a teacher is the exact opposite happy to go to work and come home.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Not doing a darned "organized" thing this summer! Think we will spend more time at Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and the beach! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!