Anonymous wrote:Parent of a teen here.

FOUR "extracurriculars" for a four and two year old is ... a lot.

Something that sets up a lifelong practice of exercise.

My kid plays a team sport, but honestly, this would not be the right fit for all kids. I also HATE the way team sports become super competitive (with kids getting cut from the team) at such an early age.

Everything else - let the kid guide. Do they want to learn an instrument? A language? Then go for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't push.

I disagree. I think exposure to both piano and a new language is great whether they have ability or not. Just keep it light and fun.

Parent of a teen here.

FOUR "extracurriculars" for a four and two year old is ... a lot.

Something that sets up a lifelong practice of exercise.

My kid plays a team sport, but honestly, this would not be the right fit for all kids. I also HATE the way team sports become super competitive (with kids getting cut from the team) at such an early age.

Everything else - let the kid guide. Do they want to learn an instrument? A language? Then go for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't push.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish we started piano and a second language when my kids were that young.

+1. I feel a little bad that we didn’t do these.

Eh, I started music that young with my two. It only is helpful if they really really like it. Getting a four year old to focus on music when he isn’t interested is a painful way to waste time.

Anonymous wrote:I wish we started piano and a second language when my kids were that young.

+1. I feel a little bad that we didn’t do these.

Anonymous wrote:Rec soccer.
Running, organized, outside, structured, and bc teams are based on your neighborhood/base elementary school DD already had friends/more excited when it came time for Kindergarten.

NP here. My DD will be in private school so not in the neighborhood but do you think this would be valuable for making “home friends”?

We prioritized what our kids really wanted to do which was really just figure skating. We did other things like gymnastics, soccer, and tennis just for exposure (to an activity that was less expensive) but DD was really intense about skating. Swimming we did for safety.

Rec soccer.
Running, organized, outside, structured, and bc teams are based on your neighborhood/base elementary school DD already had friends/more excited when it came time for Kindergarten.

Swimming 100%. It is great to knock it out while they're young, then if they don't like swimming but are a competent swimmer by age 6, you can focus on other things. We also prioritized gymnastics just to build athleticism and balance. They didn't turn out to be gymnasts but it was a great start.

I wish we started piano and a second language when my kids were that young.

We didn't do anything but preschool, although I took them to the pool a lot so they swam well by 4. Our first "extracurricular" was swim team the summer before Kindergarten, and then we did a rec sport a season (soccer, basketball, tee ball), based on whatever was available cheaply at their school, starting in K. In first we added the children's choir at church.

Kids are now involved in a bunch of extracurriculars at a high level, so it didn't seem that their late start held them back.

Prior to late elementary, swimming and art, once a week each. They also did some dancing on and off, to keep them moving. We tried music too, but out of 3, only one kid had the interest, abilities + drive for it.

For formal extracurriculars, we wanted them to do something athletic and something artistic. For DS that was soccer and baseball (starting in preschool) + school choir and starting an instrument in 4th grade. For DD, she hated sports but loved hiking so we prioritized that as a family and later in ES she decided on fencing. She took art classes outside of school + instrument starting in 4th grade.

But, beyond organized activities, what we really prioritized when they were young was free play and time with friends. DH and I were both quite shy and did not have a lot of friends when we were young so building strong social skills was really a priority. That meant we prioritized making time for regular play dates starting in preschool and into ES, not lots of activities. They both did end up being pretty confident kids with strong friend groups.

soccer, though at the time it was just running around without kids. We just wanted some kind of organized outdoor activity that involved running.

Swimming and piano. Late teens now.

Swimming is a given. My 2 and 4 year old both take weekly swimming lessons.

The 4 yr old is in a good five hour a day preschool and the little one is home with a great nanny. They both do art with nanny as well as science stuff and sensory (for little one). Lots of playing outside and friends.

Should we start piano for older child? Second language for both? Outdoor gym class? All of the above?