Why not try something in the summer at this age? Some kids need more downtime during the school year. Summer can be a time to explore interests and learn to swim. As kids get older, there are naturally more school year extracurriculars. For a six-year-old… I wouldn’t sweat it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on most of the responses on this thread, it's no wonder there is a mental health crisis among young people in this country. Spend a lot of money when they're super young and drag them from one activity to another with no breathing room, and you'll spend a ton of money when they're a bit older on therapy where they will struggle with learning mindfulness techniques. But hey, at least they won't be "average" 😂

Seriously! My 6 year old is in dance and piano so I'm not really one to talk I guess but this thread is so eye opening. I had my first daughter when we were living in NYC and I had her in all the activities. It was just what you did there, even with babies. I moved to the suburbs and we decided to slow down... The kids play soccer in the back yard, we walk to the neighborhood park, they swim, play tennis, we walk on the beach, we garden, we cook, they tumble around outside, etc. There's nothing wrong with a few activities but your kid is just fine without them.

+1, of course an activity or so can be great but there is also so much more you can do as a family and I think people really underestimate how layering all of these on eats into quality family time which makes is really important for kids (and everyone in the family) too. I mean, different things work for different families for sure but it should be ok to do less and not looked down upon like some of the posters (I think that’s probably not the norm, dcum skews in funny directions).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the nothing to be proud of comment.

I was saying having a kid with no activities is nothing to be proud of.

I know what you said. Why though? What do you mean by that? Are those kids less than to you?

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the nothing to be proud of comment.

I was saying having a kid with no activities is nothing to be proud of.

I don't understand the nothing to be proud of comment.

Anonymous wrote:My son whined that it was cold and he didn’t want to ski at age 5. By age 9, he could ski better than my husband. He loves it, absolutely loves it.

My son played soccer and t ball in kindergarten and went on to play travel soccer. He tried tennis at age 6 and didn’t play much until age 8 when the pandemic hit. He is a tennis natural. He played often outside during the pandemic.

My son whines about swimming when he was 5. He complained about going to morning swim team practice. He passed the swim test at age 6, could swim laps and tread water for 2 minutes. He still does not love swimming but at least he can swim decently.

My son cried and was wimpy about learning to ride a bike at age 5. Now he rides his bike to his friends’ houses.

You have to push a little at this age. I have a friend who doesn’t like to force her kids to do anything. Her daughter plays no sports and has no activities. I don’t think this is anything to be proud of.

As a mother of a 4yo I have to drag to any activities, I appreciate this response.

Anonymous wrote:Based on most of the responses on this thread, it's no wonder there is a mental health crisis among young people in this country. Spend a lot of money when they're super young and drag them from one activity to another with no breathing room, and you'll spend a ton of money when they're a bit older on therapy where they will struggle with learning mindfulness techniques. But hey, at least they won't be "average" 😂

Seriously! My 6 year old is in dance and piano so I'm not really one to talk I guess but this thread is so eye opening. I had my first daughter when we were living in NYC and I had her in all the activities. It was just what you did there, even with babies. I moved to the suburbs and we decided to slow down... The kids play soccer in the back yard, we walk to the neighborhood park, they swim, play tennis, we walk on the beach, we garden, we cook, they tumble around outside, etc. There's nothing wrong with a few activities but your kid is just fine without them.

Exactly! Extracurriculars are nice and hopefully fun, but no kid needs them. Decades of kids didn't have them at all.

Anonymous wrote:4-6 is such an amazing age of development. I love watching her learn to read, ride a bike, swim, play piano, dance and play tennis. I don’t necessarily think that you have put your child in classes but please don’t waste this precious age. I think it is amazing how she picks up all these new skills.

Why would it be wasting the age if they aren’t in classes?? You’re right, they are sponges at this age. So your 6 year old can learn tennis and dance and piano after school and soak in those skills. My kid will play in the woods behind the house with his friend after school and they will learn how nature feels in his hands and under his feet, and how to build a fort, and how to be at one with himself and his thoughts. Like a sponge. Just different skills. Children grew up into amazing humans for thousands of years without needing three extra curricular activities after a 7 hour school day when they are 6 years old.

4-6 is such an amazing age of development. I love watching her learn to read, ride a bike, swim, play piano, dance and play tennis. I don’t necessarily think that you have put your child in classes but please don’t waste this precious age. I think it is amazing how she picks up all these new skills.

It all depends on what you want to get out of signing up for classes. At this age, kids can 1) learn a skill, 2) be kept active, busy, and out of the house, 3) socialize with kids and adults outside of school and home, 4) develop a sense of risk taking, accomplishment, and pride in learning something new and getting better with practice.

I signed up my oldest kid for drama classes at age 4 because he had a speech delay and he benefited from extra socialization and practicing speaking. I signed up my younger one for many gym classes because he needed to be out of the house and expending energy. Neither are interested in drama or gymnastics today, but that wasn’t my intention.

They took swim lessons to learn a skill and now both kids swim competitively. They took classes in other activities - chess, robotics, mountain biking, skiing, rock climbing, sailing, various instruments, and some stuck and others didn’t. But the nice thing is that they are open to trying new things. My 14 year old is an excellent skier and now trying snowboarding for fun. My 10 year old is taking up viola and trumpet (lord help us). Decide what you want out of the classes and don’t sign up just to sign up. And I guess it is ok to push a little bit, but I wouldn’t have forced my kids if they were adamantly against something from the start. We never had to push our kids into taking classes or lessons, with the exception of our native language.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The parents whose parents were elite anything start early. The parents I know who were D1 athletes start playing sports with their kids as soon as they can kick a ball. DH was a tennis player. He started hitting with them at around age 4. Kids started clinics at age 5, played on tennis team by age 8 and then started tournaments at age 9. My two boys play tennis 5-6x per week.

Of course if your child is naturally talented, the kid could start later but the child would be at a disadvantage from the kids who started years earlier.

The kid may not even end with the first sport they started with but it is best to try earlier.

There are adults who are perfectly content just watching tv and not being active. The world is full of average or below average people.

Not in organized activities does not mean not active

Says the poor person.

What a rude thing to say. Not poor, just common sense