We have yet to enroll either LO in any activities like swim, gymnastics, dance, t-ball etc but I feel like a lot of others have their LO's enrolled in something. My oldest is in preschool so there's at least that, but I'm curious how important you think extra curricular activities are.
Why do you enroll your LO? For fun? Social? To gain a skill? How many activities do they do per year?
honeydew / 7622 posts
We have T in swim lessons at 6 mo 1x a week. We will be going likely indefinitely. It's important for her to know how to swim from a young age since my parents have a pool.
I'll get her in dance classes at 2- there is a studio down the street and I'm friends with the owner. As long as she likes it we will keep it up.
We also do free things like story hour at the library.
pomegranate / 3314 posts
Honestly, I would prefer to not over schedule my kids when they're young since there's so much pressure to do so as they get older. I'm a SAHM and prior to starting preschool my daughter did swim lessons and a couple of free library classes, but that was about it. We mostly did lots of park time and casual play dates.
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
We've done swim, soccer, and gym, but at this age it's mostly to get out of the house. With school starting it's a lot so for now it's school and swim.
pomelo / 5093 posts
I'm kind of opposed to them before school age, to be honest. If they work for your family, cool, but I would absolutely not feel like you've done wrong by skipping them. My four year old would be absolutely uninterested in any kind of directed activity (as many are), so I just make sure that she get a lot of opportunity to do various arts and sports and such in more unstructured environments. I'll probably enroll her in stuff when she gets old enough to ask for it.
It always bums me out when I see parents wondering how to get their 3 or 4 year olds more interested in participating in these structured activities. A really good instructor for this age group will teach a class that is mostly just guided free play, and I just don't feel the need to pay money for that. The push to learn and to over schedule starts younger and younger these days, and I'm just not into it.
My only exception is swimming lessons, because my daughter really needs to learn basic water skills. So we'll be doing that this summer. If I didn't have a baby, I'd just make a bigger effort to teach her on my own.
ETA: yeah, basically what everyone else said.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
I think the one that's most important is swimming! The rest of them can wait for later...
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
I think if your child is home with you then it's important. Otherwise I don't think it's necessary or important at all. I grew up never being in mommy and me classes, ballet, gymnastics, piano, etc etc. Did I want some classes? Sure!
My 3.5 year old is in daycare ft but besides that we haven't sign her up for anything. Time and money are the biggest factors. Now that she's older and has interests I hope to sign her up for something by spring.
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@regberadaisy: Just wondering (not in a snarky way, genuinely curious) why do you think it's important if your child is home with you? I'm home with my two and A isn't enrolled in any and doesn't go to preschool. But we go out most days to museums, playgrounds, splash pads etc and she has lots of friends. I keep toying with classes but apart from swimming (which I do need to sort out because it's a safety issue) I honestly don't think she needs it.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
LO has been in gymnastics for almost a year and it's great. Of course it isn't necessary, but it's a fun activity to get us out of the house and do something as a family (we go on Saturday mornings). She's made some friends and adores her teacher. I don't see a downside to it! That said we'll likely only do one extracurricular at a time as she's in daycare FT and I feel like any more than that would be too much.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
LO is in full time daycare as we both WOH FT. We started swimming at 2 1/2 and have continued till now, so the last two summers. We live in a place with lots of pools so it is a safety issue for me as well as a way to beat the heat!
We did soccer over the winter b/c LO asked for it and it was just for fun. It was more like guided free play but she enjoyed it. She is now asking for gymnastics or ballet for the winter so we will see what she decides. I am ok with one class at a time at her interest level--we do better when we are out and about on the weekends. But I annoy doing it because she needs to become an Olympic swimmer or I am grooming her to get a soccer scholarship to college or anything!
pomelo / 5678 posts
LO doesn't do any at 2. Plenty of time for that later. We do meet up once a week, at least, with friends at the park (once a week is scheduled, but we go everyday and see lots of regular friends).
cantaloupe / 6669 posts
LO is not in any formal activities but we have playgroups, story times, visits to the children's museum, etc. that we go to at the same time every week. She's 22 months. She'll go to preschool part time next fall.
We do want to start gymnastics soon but I think I am going to wait until after we potty train. We did a trial class and she really took to it. We wouldn't do something if she didn't like it.
We want to do swimming for safety reasons but we'll probably wait until next summer at this point.
To answer your question, for us it is important to keep LO socialized and to have the opportunity to engage in different kinds of play and experiences especially because she is not in school/daycare. That definitely doesn't have to happen with formal/structured activities though.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
We do the things that play into lo's interests, and I think it's important if lo is home full time, after about the first year or so and we started late.
I think exposing kids to different activities is important during elementary school, otherwise.
Eta, we are canceling some stuff now that lo is starting preschool, social and emotional learning is the most important right now and preschool is better for that. The 2 were keeping are for the days she has no preschool (she's 3 days/wk for now) and they're the ones she likes, we have no real expectations as far as skills go..
pomelo / 5258 posts
We did basketball at 18 months. It was a joke. DD loved it but she had no clue what was going on. DH and I got bored of it after two classes.
At 2.5 some local moms started a soccer play date for free. When I tried to take LO the second week she said, "I already did soccer, mom."
I think we'll start swimming at 3 but nothing else until Brownies I think.
pomelo / 5621 posts
DS is 2.5 and started gymnastics two weeks ago. He is in daycare full time but we wanted him involved in something for the winter since they are long here. We wanted somewhere he could burn off some energy plus he is learning new skills and building up his confidence in his physical abilities.
I don't think it is necessary for kids to be in extracurriculars. There are many ways to get social time.
honeydew / 7444 posts
We have both kids in swimming lessons. We put LO1 in gymnastics when she was around 2 years old because like @ALV91711, our winters are cold and long, and I wanted her to have an activity where she got exercise.
DH wanted to put her in soccer but I didn't feel as if she had the athleticism to make the most of it. I would feel comfortable putting her in when she is 4 or 5.
pineapple / 12566 posts
My two are in daycare and we go to the park nearly every afternoon. They have never been in any additional classes. I'm not opposed but the main problem is logistics, what do I do with one when I'm supposed to be participating with the other in a class? I would love for the older one to learn to swim, but I think I need to be there, so what do I do with the younger one during lessons?
bananas / 9227 posts
We were looking forward to enrolling her in gymnastics when she turned 3, but then they increased the minimum age requirement to 4. Honestly, I'm no longer in a rush. We involve her in a ton of things around the house and she goes to preschool/daycare full time. For now, I don't think we need anything else.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I think it's extremely important when you get into kindergarten and beyond...kids are sitting at their desks all day, gym is once a week, etc.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
My kids are in daycare full-time, so I don't think the extra-curricular activities are important at all. That said, we've signed up Xander for some, just for fun! I think swimming lessons is probably important in general and I'd rather him learn sooner rather than later, so he took that over the summer. Now he's in gymnastics, just for fun.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@travelgirl1: I think there's a different set of social skills learned when mom and dad aren't there playing mediator. And also, not all kids that stay home with grandparents or parents get as much socialization as your kids!
@looch: very very good point on the physical exercise after kindergarten.
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts
We've done gymnastics and music. Mostly to get out of the house! T is 3.4 and he's done a lot of swimming but we will do actual lessons this winter.
grapefruit / 4712 posts
My little guys aren't currently enrolled in any activities. I am a stay at home mom, so we do museum and play dates every week. This winter I will probably put them in some activities at the local YMCA (mostly because I plan to join myself). N has previously done the mommy and me toddler gym classes and loves them! I would love to get my boys in swim lessons, but that would require them to not completely hate water.
pomegranate / 3595 posts
@lamariniere: we started swimming at 2 1/2 when kids go in the water by themselves. I didn't have another baby at the time but I do now so we just hang out during the 30 minute lesson and other parents bring younger sibs along too.
persimmon / 1363 posts
I am currently on a long mat leave and we do classes, but they're all directed free play type - music, gymboree, playgroup. I do them because I like getting out of the house with the kids. When everyone's in daycare again, I won't do any classes, since the main idea of them is socialization. All of the more structured stuff we have tried we have haaaaaaaated.
squash / 13764 posts
No need, but we have always done 3 classes or so a semester--they are honestly mostly for me to get out of the house and see people, and have LO engage with other kids and adults.
pineapple / 12793 posts
We do swimming for safety.
She's doing an intro to sports this fall with DH for bonding. It's just a couple hours a week but they don't get much one on one time and it'll be good for them to have "their thing."
She's in part time preschool so hopefully that takes care of her social needs.
bananas / 9899 posts
Personally, I don't think any extra-curricular activities are "necessary". At that age I'd maybe do a swimming class, but that's it. I'd try to keep extra activities to a minimum.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
Mine is 3.5 and we do a Saturday morning soccer class. They don't have actual soccer games, more like activities that sometimes include a soccer ball. I like it because he is working on listening to instructions from people besides his parents or teachers. i also like the extra socialization outside of the kids at his school. My LO can be pretty shy in new situations (just like me) so I want to help him any way I can.
honeydew / 7303 posts
We do dance just for fun. I took ballet and tap growing up for many years and really enjoyed it, so as long as she is happy she will continue.
pomelo / 5660 posts
We did swimming for both kids and I need to enroll both kids again. DS is in school full time and he has soccer class on Saturday morning. DD stays home with me and goes to Little Gym 3 times a week.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
she just started swim and does kindermusik..which will be replaced by dance in a few weeks. neither is extremely intensive, and are very relaxed and fun. she isn't in preschool or daycare so I like to get her (and myself) out of the house.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
My LO is 22 months and we don't have her in any extra curricular activities. She is with a nanny and another LO all day and the nanny takes them to library story time or a splash pad about once a week. I've thought about swimming of a Gymboree class on the weekends, but I'm just not willing to tie up all my weekends because we are out of town at least one weekend a month.
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