How often do your middle schoolers hang with friends after school?

[Anonymous]

Does your middle schooler have freedom after school? This is the first year my kid doesn't have a daily after school sport or club and wants to hang out with friends every day.

Apparently their two closest friends just have curfews, like "be home for dinner by 6," and as long as they stay on honor roll they can go to a set of locations together within waking distance like each other's houses, the library, Starbucks, a certain park together. They hang out and work on homework. Is this common?

[Anonymous]

My middle school kid does have a sport. They hang out with friends after school 1-2x a week.

[Anonymous]

Yes they go hang out with friends or bike to the corner store (starting 6th and 8th). They do need to leave a note as to where they have gone. They get home from school 2-3 hours before us. The 6th grader hangs out with friends probably 3 days a week.

[Anonymous]

Mine doesn't do it everyday because she does have a sport twice a week, but she has the freedom to go to a shopping center near our neighborhood with friends whenever she's free. She just has to tell us she's going and be home around 5:30.

[Anonymous]

My seventh grader goes to Starbucks or 7-11 with friends on the days she doesn’t have a sport or activity. Then they usually all go to someone’s house. As long as she tells us where she is going I’m fine with it.

[Anonymous]

Maybe once a week to a friend’s house or Starbucks in the shopping center. They all have sports and activities so it’s not easy to do more often than that.
More often they will do a hangout on Saturday or Sunday, and almost always when there is a Student Holiday.

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

Rarely.

[Anonymous]

Mine has not yet adjusted to the homework load and spends way too long on all of it. That doesn't leave a lot of time for hanging out with friends. I'm not quite sure if she'll learn how to speed up homework or if I need to intervene to give her a little more balance.

[Anonymous]

I only allowed this once a week, max. Clubs and chores and homework beckons.

[Anonymous]

Rarely after school. Most have sports or other things going on, and very few walk or bike to school (not a walkable area).

[Anonymous]

My DD never does but her BFF who is a boy hangs out with his crew after school the majority of days he does not have an activity (though he usually has a sport).

[Anonymous]

Pretty often, not big on ECs and prioritize unstructured time for kids.

[Anonymous]

I'd have much rather more in-person after school hangouts than coming home to play video games. But most friends in 5th and 6th grade preferred the latter. I'd have been OK with Starbucks trips as long as it didn't affect appetite at dinner.

[Anonymous]

We have standing invites for swimming at our house Friday after school. They also go to MS or HS sports games together or out for fro yo.

Otherwise sign up for a non-school drama performing arts class or something with a friend