Child dislikes all activities outside of home

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a lazy bum

He's six!

Startin' 'em early, I recon.

[Anonymous]

My son was like that at 6, although we did not succeed in getting him to try nearly as many activities as you did, so congratulations on that! My son is 11 and is more interested in trying activities. I’d say the change started when he was 9 or 10. I made him do one “thing” of his choice over the years, and now he is amenable to more/different. I think he is a kid who needs a lot of down time, as opposed to his older sister who preferred to be busier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We signed up for many activities for DS6 and had him dabble in them —including flag football, soccer, cub scouts, swimming, piano, chess, etc. He invariably complains and whines about participating in any of these. We are not pushy parents so we let him quit after a few weeks or months. He also complains about school and afterschool latchkey program. His ideal day is staying at home to goof off, scribble pictures and letters (but he is neither artistic nor literary) , and watch TV if possible— we usually restrict screen time. We thought he might at least enjoy doing *one* thing so we went the route of trying a bunch of things and seeing what sticks, but he really dislikes every activity outside of home, so far. Has anyone successfully overcome this issue? I.e. have your kids learned to start liking an activity after initially hating it?

Is he an only child or the oldest? Also, when did you start doing these activities - recent or did you sign up and expose him to this wide range of activities from an early age?

DS5 is doing a bunch of things that you list above but usually enjoys them. He has a sister that did the same so he tagged along early and was exposed to many of the same things so that probably helps, I think. Currently we have an EC on every day(sometimes more than one in a day) of the week except Friday. But, I also let him skip here and there if he says he doesn't want to go or is feeling tired. At this level, most of the activities aren't rigidly structured and more basic or play/fun based so he enjoys them and looks forward to them.

[Anonymous]

Stop letting him quit after a few weeks etc. Make him stick to it.. he might find he likes it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We signed up for many activities for DS6 and had him dabble in them —including flag football, soccer, cub scouts, swimming, piano, chess, etc. He invariably complains and whines about participating in any of these. We are not pushy parents so we let him quit after a few weeks or months. He also complains about school and afterschool latchkey program. His ideal day is staying at home to goof off, scribble pictures and letters (but he is neither artistic nor literary) , and watch TV if possible— we usually restrict screen time. We thought he might at least enjoy doing *one* thing so we went the route of trying a bunch of things and seeing what sticks, but he really dislikes every activity outside of home, so far. Has anyone successfully overcome this issue? I.e. have your kids learned to start liking an activity after initially hating it?

This is such a mean thing to say about your 6-year-old who obviously has creative interests that do not fit your ideal image of a child who plays soccer, chess, and piano. He will become more artistic and literary if you nurture his interests.

[Anonymous]

He’s in school all day and after care and you signed him up for all those activities? I wonder he’s tired. How do you know if he’s not artistic or literary yet? He’s six! Give him some downtime. That’s fine as long as he’s not allowed to use it watching TV or on screen

[Anonymous]

He's SIX YEARS OLD!

Home sounds like a fine place for a 6 yo to read, build, do crafts and run around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop letting him quit after a few weeks etc. Make him stick to it.. he might find he likes it.

This, yes. Pick one thing and make him actually go.

Lots of kids dislike activities in the beginning because they aren’t good at them when they start. And surprise! Most kids hate doing things they aren’t good at. You have to give it long enough so that your kid gains a basic competency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's only 6 and in school and after school care. Maybe he just needs and values the down time at home since it's limited.

This is not a critique, I'm a working mom with kids in care as well, and also struggle with this balance. Where I've come down with my now-8 year old is that he can only stand one activity at a time, but we need to sign him up for a sport and drag him to the park or hiking every weekend because otherwise he's just not getting enough exercise to stay healthy. So that's our current baseline but we're ok with him not excelling at extracurricular stuff, we're not making him learn music even though I kind if wish he had an interest, etc.

+1

[Anonymous]

Our daughter is similar and honestly I think some kids really just need downtime after school. It's a lot for them and a long day. We don't push it.

[Anonymous]

My DS 6 is exactly the same. We've signed up and dropped so many things, he doesn't even do aftercare. His problem I've realized is some sort of anxiety. He's *not* as good at sports as others, and he seems other kids doing (whatever) at a higher level and gets intimidated. I think we are slowly turning a corner now though. He's not signed up for as much as other kids, but he's in art (which he likes), piano (private lessons, and I can play so I sit with him), and a sport (he hates this one but all his friends are on the team so we will finish the season).

I would recommend private lessons for whatever because it removes the anxiety part, and put him in something where you/spouse/friends have an interest and can help or take lessons with him. And bribe + commit your way through at least 3 months.

[Anonymous]

Damn you crazy tiger mom need to chill

[Anonymous]

He is 6. He goes to school & then aftercare. Let him have time to chill. You can say no screens, but let him doodle, play with this toys, play in the yard or just stare into space. He doesn’t need activities. He will need to learn to swim, but the rest are optional.

[Anonymous]

Nothing to worry about. Finish the season/session(s) and then take a break or let him choose just one activity he likes and go from there.

Nothing wrong either with just letting him run around and play at the playground or just unstructured outside time either, especially now as the weather is getting nicer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’s really young and already has a long day with aftercare. I would give him some time before pushing activities. We did not do much in early elementary, focusing instead on time to play outside in the neighborhood and family trips to playgrounds, nature centers, museums. By late elementary/middle my kids were doing more than we could handle and I’m nostalgic about those slow paced early years.

I’m all for exposing kids to stuff, and see va

This! I am a kindergarten teacher and the day is exhausting for almost all of the kids, add in extended day and they are wiped. He's getting plenty of social time during the day. They also miss their families. Just take some time to do walks, go to the park, play games. My own kid wasn't interested in many activities until 8.