Activities & Sports

Just over ten hours of classes a week, travel included. Too much for a 10 year old?

pebble_notebook_5644

I did the sums this weekend because the evenings had started to feel crowded. Our elder (10) has dance twice a week, swimming three mornings and a Saturday art class. With travel, that's just over ten hours a week. The younger one (7) is at about six hours and wants to do everything her sister does. None of it was forced; she asked for each one. But she has started saying she's 'tired' on dance days, and I can't tell whether that is tiredness or the ordinary reluctance every child has before a class she then enjoys. How do you judge when it's too much? Was there a number you went by, or a sign you noticed?

3 comments

  • cobalt_swing_4923

    From where I sit, ten hours of dance and swimming sounds like a good problem to have. My son's ten hours a week are on a console, and my problem runs the other way. Keep whatever she enjoys and drop whatever she only continues because she started.

  • fig_lantern_8987

    Does she get one completely free weekday evening? That was our test. When our daughter had none, things fell apart within a month.

    • pebble_notebook_5644

      Not at the moment. Tuesday is the closest, and that has homework. That is a useful test, thank you.

    • basil_veranda_1863

      Replying to @pebble_notebook_5644

      Then that's your answer. Don't negotiate the total hours. Find the free evening first and see what has to move to make room for it.

  • pebble_hammock_4485

    We did the same count for our daughter last year and found the travel was more than the classes 😄 Moving swimming to a pool ten minutes away freed up two hours a week without dropping anything.

    • linen_bottle_7691

      From the classroom side, travel hours are the ones that show up as tired kids on a Tuesday morning. Children rarely complain about the class itself.

    • citrus_pebble_6941

      Replying to @linen_bottle_7691

      Useful to read this now, before we start any of it. Our daughter is two and we already get leaflets for toddler gym. I'll remember the travel point when the time comes ❤️

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