Hellobee Boards Topic: If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?

Hellobee Boards Topic: If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:18:55 +0000 sunny on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2629191 Thu, 29 Sep 2016 12:50:20 +0000 sunny 2629191@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We signed up for a bunch of the extra curriculars at daycare. We are also doing tennis on the weekends. Sometimes I feel like I signed her up for too much, but she loves all of the activities. babypugs on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628995 Thu, 29 Sep 2016 08:59:32 +0000 babypugs 2628995@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope! I have no idea how you guys make this work. I feel like we don't have enough time to hang out as it is. stargal on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628988 Thu, 29 Sep 2016 08:55:19 +0000 stargal 2628988@https://boards.hellobee.com/ nope! both boys 2 &4 are in daycare all day, i want time as a family at night and on weekends. Daycare is their extra curricular activity. They gain everything that they can learn/experience from a extracurricular activity from daycare. LOL. i dont feel like they are missing out at all! In the future (maybe school aged?) i would like them to do something if they want to. Mrs. Pen on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628930 Thu, 29 Sep 2016 07:56:26 +0000 Mrs. Pen 2628930@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yes, he has hockey on Mondays (really just skating lessons lol). And we were doing swimming on weekends but we finished the last one and haven't registered for the new one. Getting to hockey on time is tough- it's at 5:40 and I'm usually done with work around 5. So we eat afterward at 7. But I'd hate for him to miss out because we work and he loves having things to do wheres_c on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628869 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:45:30 +0000 wheres_c 2628869@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My LO is in daycare 9-4. They offer a ton of extracurriculars through the school but so far we haven't enrolled in any of them. LO has been begging to take the gymnastics class though so I might cave. We do swim class on Wednesday evenings but I plan on taking a break for the winter. He has soccer practice on a Monday nights and games from 8:30-9:30 on Sat am. He loves the activities and it's nice having plans. autumnlove on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628861 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 22:18:44 +0000 autumnlove 2628861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We did soccer and gymnastics with LO 1 when I worked FT. Usually after daycare or early mornings on Saturdays. avivoca on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628846 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:50:24 +0000 avivoca 2628846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ She does soccer through a program at school. Other than that, no, we don't put her in activities. Mae on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628845 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:48:05 +0000 Mae 2628845@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My daughter is in daycare 4 days/week and my parents have her the other day. They have her in swim lessons and music (both their idea). If she was in 5 days daycare we would not have her in those things right now, although I know she really enjoys it! When it gets cold and we have less to do on weekends I'm thinking we might do gymnastics on weekends. Corduroy on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628844 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:46:06 +0000 Corduroy 2628844@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No scheduled classes for us. We did Bball once but not made it to 3 sessions. For now we're enjoying flexibility in our schedules. Driving around watching the clock is just about my least favorite activity. I don't look forward to juggling extra circulars in the future. mrs.shinerbock on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628832 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:15:38 +0000 mrs.shinerbock 2628832@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No. I use all the things PPs said about why not to ease my guilt that we don't have her in anything because it seems like *everyone* does have their kids in something. What it really comes down to is that I'm not willing to tie us down on the weekends (we visit my parents at their lake house a lot) and it would add too much stress to my life to do it on weekdays. PawPrints on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628520 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 12:01:21 +0000 PawPrints 2628520@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I am pretty protective of the idea of early childhood as a time for child-directed unstructured creative free play. I wasn't allowed to start up any activities or lessons until I was in 1st grade and I think I'll follow a similar rule for my kids. Mrs. Blue on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628512 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:51:17 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2628512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MaisyMay: I don't think there's anything at all wrong with having LOs in extras, especially if it's something she loves and wants to do, which is what I meant at the end of my post. I'm more just trying to say that it's about what's best for you and your kids and if it feels like too much, than you shouldn't feel like you have to do it or your kid is missing some critically important thing. I think if it feels right to you guys and your kiddo loves it and isn't feeling to rushed for events, it's great to do extras. We're not personally at a point yet where we think we're ready and our kids have never asked to do any of those kinds of things yet, so we're good with putting it off a bit longer. I'm particularly sensitive about the twin thing and how they have to share everything all the time. We are going to try to give them options of what they want to do when they get to that stage and make it work if it's different activities, but man, as a parent it would just be so much EASIER for me if they wanted to do the same thing! 😉. They will be in separate classrooms next year, and I think that will be good for them to at least have different teachers, different friends, etc! Mrs. Blue on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628506 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:44:55 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2628506@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Truth Bombs: I get that! That's why I said if it works for her and their family, that's great and that I'm sure her DD would enjoy it. I was just trying to express that I don't think she should feel like she has to do it or that her DD is missing out on something critical at this age of they decide it doesn't work that well for them. MaisyMay on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities/page/2#post-2628505 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:43:25 +0000 MaisyMay 2628505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Blue: I agree that they are fine without extra activities, but my reasoning for ballet is so that LO1 has something that is all hers. She shares so much of everything else with her little brother and this gives her something we can all do for her, that she doesn't need to share. Growing up, my sister and I (twin) shared just about everything and it led to some rough feelings, so this helps ease that from the start. Truth Bombs on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628502 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:36:01 +0000 Truth Bombs 2628502@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mrs. Blue: I think there's a big difference between saying "my kids won't be fine if they don't do extracurriculars" and saying " this is something that is fun and enjoyable for my kid and I'm willing to be inconvenienced so she can have that experience". There are lots of things I do to get out of the house and have varied experiences because they are fun for me, even though I would be perfectly fine without them. So I think my kid should have that opportunity too. I do these things because my kid loves going, and I like making her happy, not because I think a four year old NEEDS the experience to be well rounded or successful in the future. And we have plenty of down time as a family too. Her soccer games are over at 9:30am on Saturday and the rest of the weekend is family time. I think balance definitely exists. raspberries on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628498 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:25:36 +0000 raspberries 2628498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We do swim lessons on the weekends, but only in the winter (when you can't go swimming at a regular outdoor pool.) We'll probably also pick up karate, but we live right next door to a karate studio, so it's super convenient. erinbaderin on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628495 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:20:50 +0000 erinbaderin 2628495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We do gymnastics Saturday mornings and Sportball Sunday afternoons right now. We did gymnastics after daycare during the summer and it was nice but too difficult to coordinate because it meant my husband had to work from home every Tuesday KayKay on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628427 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:19:32 +0000 KayKay 2628427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @anagram: i'm pretty sure my DD1 loves running around the house in her leotard and ballet or tap shoes (ugh...the tap shoes!) as much as she loves actually going to dance class. so i definitely think there are ways to encourage their interest in things without committing to any sort of outside enrichment activities! Anagram on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628403 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:04:51 +0000 Anagram 2628403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mediagirl: Our preschool program provides an after school program (for additional money) that does include music lessons, some informal dance, some informal gymnastics. We may sign her up for the after school program next year when she is 4. But for this year, it was cheaper and more convenient to have our nanny pick her up and pay the nanny for 2 kids for the last 2 hours before I get home from work. I don't think she is missing out at all by not having those enrichment classes. My daughter loves Ballet and asks to go, but I've watched and at this age they aren't doing any serious ballet. It's mainly just silly exercises for coordination and some very beginner ballet stuff that you could do at home. But she enjoys it, so we go. Mrs. Blue on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628401 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:03:39 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2628401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think my kids are preschoolers and they are going to be a million percent fine not doing extracurricular activities at their age. :happy: I think they would be fine not doing extracurriculars for a few more years, for that matter. I think I was in 3rd grade before I did any kind of sports, and I went on to play sports through high school, be involved in choirs and solo performances, do public speaking events, etc. The reality is our kids really need to just play and have fun and enjoy their families. If it works for you guys and her to do an extracurricular outside of work hours, that's great and there's nothing at all wrong with that. I'm sure she would enjoy it. But I think sometimes we are so tempted to schedule our kids' weeks until they are entirely full and there's not a lot of downtime or time just with family, especially when our kids are already at school/daycare for 8-10 hours a day. We're active outside of our time at school, but sometimes I think they need some time of the week that isn't just busy, busy, busy, and all going. That said, next spring, we will put them in soccer or t-ball to see if they enjoy it. If they do, we'll probably keep going with it, but I don't think your DD is going to be missing out on some critical experience unless (1) there is something she is really passionate about and really wants to do, or (2) you never give her an opportunity in the future. That's my two cents based on how we feel in the same situation. It's hard because most of our friends have their kids in at least 1-2 activities, and they always tell us that we need to get out kids in stat, but I'm good with how long we've avoided it and we're still not convinced we even want to start doing all of that next year. Bluebonnet on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628400 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:02:48 +0000 Bluebonnet 2628400@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I couldn't vote, because LOs do extra activities at school and outside of school. Adira on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628396 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:55:54 +0000 Adira 2628396@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My kids have Y memberships, so last session (summer) we did swimming on Saturdays. Now they are in Gymnastics, also on Saturdays. We'll take a break in November and December, since those are busy months for us, and then pick up another activity in January. yoursilverlining on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628394 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:53:01 +0000 yoursilverlining 2628394@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @catlady: totally office topic, bu a music-focused program sounds amazing!!! Music builds such great connections in the brain, as well as works physical, motor, creative and other skills. Very neat to have a program focused around music! honeybear on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628391 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:48:56 +0000 honeybear 2628391@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I wouldn't do it. Instead of activities, I'd continue to spend that time with your child the way you have been spending it. I don't think it's possible to spend too much time reading, drawing, taking walks, riding bikes, and sharing things you enjoy with your child when your child is still very young. Anagram on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628384 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:43:55 +0000 Anagram 2628384@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We just started ballet every Saturday morning. At first, I was hesitant to pay for a full year of Saturday classes because we travel a fair amount---but after I confirmed that they will let you make up a missed class during the week (and our nanny could theoretically take her after preschool), I signed her up. Because of our full work schedules, I don't think I will ever commit to doing more than 1 activity at a time. psw27 on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628366 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:29:20 +0000 psw27 2628366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My LO (2) does soccer and a gym class on the weekends. It's a little annoying to have something scheduled on both weekend mornings right now, but it gets us up and out of the house pretty early and he seems to like both classes. I think once soccer ends we will sign up for swimming. Truth Bombs on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628354 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:22:21 +0000 Truth Bombs 2628354@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @looch: in your case I think they would be totally fine. The only real tricky part for me is balancing the schedule with the needs of the baby. So last night when we got home from ballet at 6:30 M was hungry but the baby needed to be nursed and put to bed, and my husband wasn't home yet. So M had to eat a nutrigrain bar and watch peppa in my bed until I could get the baby to sleep and then make her dinner. It was a little hectic but we all survived and it's worth it to me if it's because she's getting to do something that makes her happy. If she wasn't having fun, I definitely would not go to the trouble because I felt like she "should" do extracurriculars. Pollywog on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628350 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:20:25 +0000 Pollywog 2628350@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We do swimming lessons on Monday nights. He will be allowed activities twice a week when he gets older hummusgirl on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628349 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:20:11 +0000 hummusgirl 2628349@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We do nothing except swim class in the summer. We've talked about signing LO up for soccer or karate, but we also just really like to have chill weekend days hanging out and life already seems so hectic rushing around with work and daycare during the week. We might start something this year though and see how it goes. KayKay on "If your child goes to daycare full time, do you do outside activities?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-your-child-goes-to-daycare-full-time-do-you-do-outside-activities#post-2628338 Wed, 28 Sep 2016 09:10:55 +0000 KayKay 2628338@https://boards.hellobee.com/ DDs go to preschool from 830-330, and I do have one after-school class a week for DD1 (gymnastics from 4-445). We did do a short session of tennis this summer that overlapped with a few weeks of school -- it was at 6pm, and it was...not fun. DD1 was very hit or miss on whether she wanted to go each week (despite asking to take the class!), she'd often be hungry or tired and kinda whiny. So for true after-school activities, I'd really consider what time it would be, how your child acts after school (would they do better with more stimulation/activity? do they need downtime?), and how it impacts your family routine. I know some people/families love to be super-busy and have a ton of planned activities, so I think it's a great option for them! We also are doing our first weekend activity with DD1 this fall -- it's on Saturdays around lunchtime. I figure that keeps us from having to hurry around in the morning, or allows us to do something else before the class. Then DD1 goes to a 45min class while DD2 eats lunch and gets ready for nap. I also have no qualms about missing it if we are out of town or something.