My dd is nearly six and does no after school activities, she has homework every night and can't imagine how she would fit it all in and still be in bed bt 7.30? What do your dc's do and what time is bedtime? Love to be convinced activities are a good idea as at moment we are loving our free flowing weekends......Go on convince me

We haven't done many activities with our DCs. My 6 year old right now does Rainbows (1 hr per week) and we go to church as a family, so she does Sunday School.

I know lots of families who do music lessons, ballet, swimming, rainbows/brownies. It really does seem exhausting.

Think it depends on the child to some extent. At 6 my dd did piano, gym, swimming and french club without any problems...but she had very little homework...and was in bed at 7.30. She couldn't have done all that with homework every night as well.

my dd would be too tired she is 6. I haven't pushed her into anything. I have asked her if she wishes to have a go at this and that, but she really doesn't feel like it, is the impression i get.
I feel she integrates well in school and out of school, and her head seems to be buzzing enough. It probably depends on the child, as has been said.

Ds is in reception. I plan on him starting swimming lessons again after school one day, and doing football for an hour on a sat morning.

DD who is two will be doing swimming during the day and ballet after school one day.

Ds did many many activities at dds age, she's been quite deprived!

Ds is 5 and has football on a Monday 4-5, swimming on a friday 6-6.30pm and a church play date thingy at someone's house alternate Thursdays after school, then church on Sundays. That's enough for us and suits us well for now. I like having empty Saturdays and my ds is in bed at 7pm every night and as soon after that as possible on a Friday after swimming.

some of us may be trying to tire our children out.... they sleep better or are just nicer humans for having had a good run around and burnt off some energy.

depends on the child, some need them and some don't.

My DD does loads but she is 9, did do dancing and other stuff when 6. But she managed fine and doesn't have to be up too early. Always kept the weekends free though.

They can get so much out of actvities, but try one thing first and see hows she manages.

I help run an after school activity for children and around 90% of parents in the 4-7 year old catagory drop them off in a state of hperactivity saying "please tire them out!".

OK. DS will be 9 next week. He does a lot of after school activities but it is totally his choice. It's all sport.
Monday is Tennis followed by cricket training
Tuesday is Swimming (I make him do that though, it is important).
Wednesday is Cricket match
Thursday is FREE.
Friday is Tennis.
In the winter he did Tennis on Mondays, swimming AND soccer on Tuesdays, nothing on Wednesdays, Soccer on Thursdays and Tennis on Fridays. Then a Soccer match on Sunday mornings.
He loves it, it keeps him fit. He is very good at sport and his tennis coach asked us to put him in for two lessons a week as he wants him to join a competition squad circuit in the new year.
If I told DS he couldn't do it he would be DEVASTATED.
He goes to bed between 8 and 8.30pm and no matter what he does, he is never asleep before 9pm.
He does 20 minutes homework a night (usually when we come in after school before going to the activity).
He thrives on it all.
However, if he didn't want to do it I wouldn't make him do it. At all.

My dss (6 and 4) do tennis on Wednesday after school. While this is OK for ds1, ds2 can't really handle it so from Jan they will be going on Saturday mornings. They have swimming on Sunday mornings. Ds1 ws doing football after school on Fridays but I have not signed him up for this over the winter.

They are very happy to come home from school and play with each other. I think once ds2 gets into Year 1 he will be more ready to do after-school activities. Their only homework on weekdays is reading and that doesn't take long.

ds has clubs at school for half an hour three lunch times a week, cooking class after school every two weeks and goes to a fencing club on saturdays for an hour. I don't think I could cope with any more. He has homework during the week and we sometimes don't get home until 6pm, depending on the traffic.

Dd was never too tired to do her ex-curricular activities at 6: ballet, swimming, Sunday school. It was me who used to get worn out.

LOL thats true it is me that is exausted

Mon Rugby then drama.
Tue Dancing 3 classes. Drama then Youth Club.
wed Gymnastics then Brownies, I help out too.
Thur off but they see their Dad.
Fri Swimming. Scouts.
Sat occasional club.

Thats 2 kids BTW before you call social services. Hoping to drop 2 actvivites soon.

DD is 5.5 and does Rainbows and Trampolining. And I think that's enough as she does get tired. I wouldn't want her not to do any, and I like her to do one that is exercise. They're pretty soon after school, so we still have time to get her to bed for 7pm. We keep the weekends free to do our own thing at the moment.

DD (6) does gym on a Tuesday, Swimming on a Thursday and Dancing Saturday mornings, it only gets exhausting when she has a dance competition or show then there's LOADS of extra practice.

DD is 5 and does a 30 min swimming lesson on a weds and although she hasn't started yet will be doing Rainbows. That' all, no plans to increase her activities as I think she would find it too much. DS is 3 and does - nothing , we have just moved to the area though!

Planning to take him swimming once a week and maybe find a music group we could both go to.

Yes. Am knackered. Children are too.

I have 3 DC, age 4-9. The 2 older DC do one after-school club/week, which is about as low stress on all of us as possible. And that's IT. They really aren't up to doing anything else and school (which is just an ordinary state primary, not much homework). They get their fill of structured time at school.

dd is just 6 and does ballet on Weds after school, cycling club on Saturday mornings, 1 hour swimming lesson on Saturday afternoon and swimming club on Sunday afternoon. She has no homework and I aim for her to be in bed by 8 but she's rarely asleep before 8:30. She loves the classes she does, especially swimming, and would be very happy if she could do more but I've told her from now on it'll be one in, one out ...

ds2 is just 9 and also does cycling and swimming on Saturday and will be starting cricket (his passion) next season on Sunday mornings - homework once a week, bedtime half 8 and he has no wish to do anything else, but loves what he does

ds1 is 11 and virtually lives in the pool

DS is 5 and goes to gym club once a week.

I have mixed feelings about it all. In my heart of hearts I feel that taking them to the park after school, (very near, and frequented by schoolfriends) is just
as good as any other social, physical activity I might enrol them in. That said ds1 loves Cubs, and did Beavers before that. Dd goes to Beavers once a week, nothing else. Dd2(6) nothing. He doesn't want to.

We are lucky because school has some afterschool sports for yrs 2-6 until 4.30 once a week. Not synchronised tho.

On Saturdays, we have a very full programme of music, ballet, swimming but it seems like great fun on Saturday, rather than too much. Sometimes ballet is dropped, or swimming according to how tired out each child is.