Anonymous wrote:It’s great your children know what they like. Like others, I would just make sure they do something active that they enjoy. Your worry comes from comparing yourself to others.

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Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

I know how to swim, play tennis, play softball, play guitar, multiple languages, classic embroidery, basic hand and machine sewing, drawing and basic sculpture, jewelry beading, robotics and computer assembly. Started to learn most of these in elementary and middle school. Kept up with some in HS and college. And as an adult with ES kids i play tennis with a friend, take craft classes etc in the time i have outside work and family obligations.

Being a jack of all trades with activities doesn't mean the kids are happy and like it. If you did, that's great, but not all kids do.

What's not to like? Not sure what you're so worried about here. A kid might try tennis and decide it's not for them? So what?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

Absolutely push myself to do things I don't want to all the time. I'm an introvert but I know that an appropriate amount of time with friends is good for me. Sometimes I don't wanna, but I make myself.

Isn't that part of being an adult - knowing what's good for you and, as if you were a toddler, making yourself do it? I mean sometimes adults have to make themselves perform basic self-care like getting enough water and eating at regular intervals when we get busy. Making sure we go do things outside the house that are good for us is just another piece of that.

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new people”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

I know how to swim, play tennis, play softball, play guitar, multiple languages, classic embroidery, basic hand and machine sewing, drawing and basic sculpture, jewelry beading, robotics and computer assembly. Started to learn most of these in elementary and middle school. Kept up with some in HS and college. And as an adult with ES kids i play tennis with a friend, take craft classes etc in the time i have outside work and family obligations.

Being a jack of all trades with activities doesn't mean the kids are happy and like it. If you did, that's great, but not all kids do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

I know how to swim, play tennis, play softball, play guitar, multiple languages, classic embroidery, basic hand and machine sewing, drawing and basic sculpture, jewelry beading, robotics and computer assembly. Started to learn most of these in elementary and middle school. Kept up with some in HS and college. And as an adult with ES kids i play tennis with a friend, take craft classes etc in the time i have outside work and family obligations.

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I know kids like this. Their parents let them quit everything they try. They never ask them to see it through, finish what they start, or stick with it. At the first hint of "I don't feel like it" they quit and that's that. Their kids do nothing after school and hate everything they try.

I’m the poster from 9:56. I didn’t let my kids drop activities they didn’t like. They had to attend the classes I paid for. They did some of these activities for multiple years. But they still never liked the activities and don’t miss them.

I think that's fair. You tried, and later on they can only blame themselves for not making more of the opportunities provided. But my friends ask their kids "do you want to do this?" and the answer is always "NO!" so the kids never try much and the few things they do try they quit halfway through. I rarely ask my kids if they want to try something I just sign them up then hype it up and that's worked out pretty well so far.

I'm glad that worked for you. I asked my kids what they wanted to sign up for, got a lot of no's, respected those no's, and gradually got some yes's. Over time they grew from kids who wanted to run around outside after school with each other and friends, to kids with strong interests, and now I'm about to post whining about how overwhelming their schedule is going to be next year when they're both in high school. So, accepting my kid's "no's" and waiting for them to be ready worked well for us. Well, other than the fact that my kids have too many hours of activities now, but I don't think "Oh, I should have forced them to do activities so they would be sick of them by now!"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I know kids like this. Their parents let them quit everything they try. They never ask them to see it through, finish what they start, or stick with it. At the first hint of "I don't feel like it" they quit and that's that. Their kids do nothing after school and hate everything they try.

I’m the poster from 9:56. I didn’t let my kids drop activities they didn’t like. They had to attend the classes I paid for. They did some of these activities for multiple years. But they still never liked the activities and don’t miss them.

I think that's fair. You tried, and later on they can only blame themselves for not making more of the opportunities provided. But my friends ask their kids "do you want to do this?" and the answer is always "NO!" so the kids never try much and the few things they do try they quit halfway through. I rarely ask my kids if they want to try something I just sign them up then hype it up and that's worked out pretty well so far.

+1 I am the parent, I don’t ask my kids if they want to try something. Of course, I know their personalities so I sign them for classes that I know they will enjoy but I don’t ask for their opinion. So far there are no complains.

That’s weird to me, to not give your child any agency. What’s wrong with saying “Here are the options, you have to pick one of these” instead of disregarding their opinion entirely?

Anonymous wrote:I’m honestly curious to if the activity pushers (“so they can do new things and meet new
People”) also do this for themselves, or is it for kids only?

Anonymous wrote:Well you can forget about them getting into a decent college at this rate. Maybe take them out to McDonald's tonight and tell them about their exciting career options.