Children's activities that are a money pit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The question is, what long-lasting positive effect do you get for the money?

I hate the factory aspect of martial arts in this area.

Maryland Youth Ballet is good - uniforms are not expensive and the teaching is professional.

I am willing to pay for good music lessons - $45 for 30 minutes at many reputable studios in the area.

As for horseback riding, I assume owning the horse is naturally expensive.

My daughter is on swim team. I feel like it's a lot of money. But, she's developing a love of swimming and will walk away with the ability to swim laps well. When she's 70 and her arthritis is acting her, she can return to the pool for her non impact exercise.

[Anonymous]

Gymnastics is very expensive. 400/month. Competition leo is $250. Have to pay to stay at hotels, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The question is, what long-lasting positive effect do you get for the money?

I hate the factory aspect of martial arts in this area.

Maryland Youth Ballet is good - uniforms are not expensive and the teaching is professional.

I am willing to pay for good music lessons - $45 for 30 minutes at many reputable studios in the area.

As for horseback riding, I assume owning the horse is naturally expensive.

My daughter is on swim team. I feel like it's a lot of money. But, she's developing a love of swimming and will walk away with the ability to swim laps well. When she's 70 and her arthritis is acting her, she can return to the pool for her non impact exercise.

How much do you pay for swim team?

[Anonymous]

Competitive cheerleading can have a lot of costs, especially when you figure in the travel that's involved.

[Anonymous]

Gymnastics, because once you get to a certain level, they have to keep taking the same class until they pass all the skills, and that can take AGES if your kid isn't the most coordinated. I finally gave up on my daughter ever learning to do a damn cartwheel after spending $100's of dollars (not including the insane cost of leotards) for her to NOT learn to do a cartwheel.

Dance can be a money pit if your studio has a very specific dress code plus recital costume costs and expensive lessons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dance need not be expensive. You want to find a place where your money goes to quality instruction, not tacky costumes and weekend "competitions."

Are some schools more known for emphasizing one than the other? I'm thinking of NoVa schools in particular. My young DD has noticeable grace and coordination (my MIL was a pro dancer and I think DD got her genes there) but I don't want to blow a fortune on crummy costumes rather than having her learn to dance well.

I remember my own dance class experience as a kid, and the shameless mark-up on costumes. My mom was horrified at spending almost $100 (back in the 80s!) on the tackiest, ugliest piece of polyester junk for my jazz class performance. It wasn't even pretty (think big sequined poly t-shirt with tacky headband) and I was as bitter as my mom was. That was my first and last dance class!

Generally speaking, you want to avoid a storefront operation that is called something like, "Miss Tammie's School of Dance." (I made that up, not sure if there is a school by that name.) You should not have to pay for multiple expensive costumes. The costumes should not make your little one look like a Vegas show girl. You should not be expected to pay extra to enter weekend competitions in motel ballrooms.

This is my niece's experience. Years of expensive instruction at a "Miss Molly's" type place. Hooker-like costumes at age twelve. Bump and grind jazz performances followed by really bad ballet. It's so sad, as they've spent thousands of dollars and so much energy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The question is, what long-lasting positive effect do you get for the money?

I hate the factory aspect of martial arts in this area.

Maryland Youth Ballet is good - uniforms are not expensive and the teaching is professional.

I am willing to pay for good music lessons - $45 for 30 minutes at many reputable studios in the area.

As for horseback riding, I assume owning the horse is naturally expensive.

My daughter is on swim team. I feel like it's a lot of money. But, she's developing a love of swimming and will walk away with the ability to swim laps well. When she's 70 and her arthritis is acting her, she can return to the pool for her non impact exercise.

How much do you pay for swim team?

$800 for the season which is sept-feb/march. She can attend up to 4 practices per week. It is recommended she attend 2. That's what we do. If we went to 4 practices the cost per class would be nominal. I don't want her to burn out on swimming so I limit her attendance--she would go all 4 times if she could.

[Anonymous]

That seems pretty reasonable compared to some other activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That seems pretty reasonable compared to some other activities.

We're still on the little kids team. I've seen the fee schedule for the teenagers--3-4k plus travel expenses to meets. And then there is spring/summer team which is additional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dance need not be expensive. You want to find a place where your money goes to quality instruction, not tacky costumes and weekend "competitions."

Are some schools more known for emphasizing one than the other? I'm thinking of NoVa schools in particular. My young DD has noticeable grace and coordination (my MIL was a pro dancer and I think DD got her genes there) but I don't want to blow a fortune on crummy costumes rather than having her learn to dance well.

I remember my own dance class experience as a kid, and the shameless mark-up on costumes. My mom was horrified at spending almost $100 (back in the 80s!) on the tackiest, ugliest piece of polyester junk for my jazz class performance. It wasn't even pretty (think big sequined poly t-shirt with tacky headband) and I was as bitter as my mom was. That was my first and last dance class!

Not sure about NoVa, but my daughter took classes at Maryland Youth Ballet. This was a few years back. The costumes for the end-of-year "demonstrations" (NOT recitals) were simple and provided by the school, like a tulle skirt worn over their class leotard. The performance was meant to display the skills gained during the year. There was nothing to buy. The school taught artistry, grace and self-discipline.

In NoVa, BalletNova is similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dance need not be expensive. You want to find a place where your money goes to quality instruction, not tacky costumes and weekend "competitions."

Are some schools more known for emphasizing one than the other? I'm thinking of NoVa schools in particular. My young DD has noticeable grace and coordination (my MIL was a pro dancer and I think DD got her genes there) but I don't want to blow a fortune on crummy costumes rather than having her learn to dance well.

I remember my own dance class experience as a kid, and the shameless mark-up on costumes. My mom was horrified at spending almost $100 (back in the 80s!) on the tackiest, ugliest piece of polyester junk for my jazz class performance. It wasn't even pretty (think big sequined poly t-shirt with tacky headband) and I was as bitter as my mom was. That was my first and last dance class!

Not sure about NoVa, but my daughter took classes at Maryland Youth Ballet. This was a few years back. The costumes for the end-of-year "demonstrations" (NOT recitals) were simple and provided by the school, like a tulle skirt worn over their class leotard. The performance was meant to display the skills gained during the year. There was nothing to buy. The school taught artistry, grace and self-discipline.

In NoVa, BalletNova is similar.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Pageants

[Anonymous]

My sons tennis = private tuition

[Anonymous]

Ice hockey and martial arts

[Anonymous]

I am the ruiner of dreams.

So many parents I know think their dc has a chance to be a professional in whatever sport the kid is interested in. The number of deluded adults I know is amazing. They don't realize the staggering odds against their dc making it on anything beyond a high school team. I've seen parents discuss this at sporting events and saw one mom cry and a dad walk away enraged when a group was discussing how unlikely any of us would know a kid who made it in professional baseball or football.

Forget tennis. If your kid isn't playing competitive tournaments by 9 or 10 you are sol. Even then the probability of your child doing anything other than making a high school team is so so small.

In the burbs here, it is not unusual for parents to pay for private coaching for little league.