how many extracurriculars are good for a 6 yr old?

[FeistyMom]

My oldest is 6 and starting 1st grade. she currently does gymnastics once a week, but has also expressed interest in soccer so that starts in the fall too. plus she wants to do piano lessons.

I want to make sure she is exposed to as many things as possible so she knows what she likes or doesn't like early on, but I don't want to over-stimulate her or give the family stress over scheduling.

Was wondering what types of activities other 6 yr olds are doing, and how many.

Thanks!

 

[Amy_T]

My daughter is 7 and does the following activities: drama club, swimming lesson, gymnastics and 2 dance lessons a week!

In the past she has tried ice skating lessons, karate and another girls group but she's stuck these ones out for a long while now and loves them. I think its good when they show interest in lots of things and the confidence to do them. X

 

[seoj]

I think you just need to help your child find the right balance for them. Our job is to encourage and support their interests- for sure- but also teach them time management (age appropriate) as they grow. My SD is that kid that would have done it ALL- literally, but during her busiest time (with dance classes- tap, ballet and gymnastics)- she got burnt out! We eventually let her drop most of the classes- but in the future, we made it very clear that she had to honor her commitments... and we had to be more involved in helping her make some of those decisions so she wasn't doing too much and overwhelming herself... we still discuss things with her (she's 16 now)- but she's got a much better handle on it now. She actually values her free time now too.

With our LO- I want her to try new things and discover and learn what she is passionate about- I'll just most likely allow 1 (maybe 2) activities at once- depending on the commitment needed. She can always change her mind later- after she's given it a good go-- but every child/family is different. Our lives are so busy already- LOL- least we don't have to deal with both girls activities at once- especially now that our oldest is driving Not sure I'd have the time in my day!

 

[River54]

I'd agree with the other post - balance is key - for you and your child.
I'd start with doing soccer as well, then if seems like she wants and can handle to do more (and your family can handle it too), then add piano, and just go from there and play it by ear.

At 6, my dd was doing ballet, soccer, violin, and swimming.

She has tried numerous things in between then and now. We did limit it, so she had days when there was no after school activity every week.

Now at 17, she does soccer and field hockey, and school sports teams - pretty much everyday except for the summer. She is an extremely active person, and can eat massive amounts of food...teenagers...

All through this, we talked about what we could handle as a family, and what she could handle with homework etc as well.

 

[Hannah's Mom]

I think it totally depends on the child, I know some people think my girls do too much - Hannah does gymnastics on a Monday, Modern dance, tap, ballet and troupe dance on a Wednesday, practices her solos and duets on a Thursday then singing and drama, lyrical ballet, gymnastics and modern on Saturdays, Lily does ballet, tap, modern, gym then an hour of competition training on a Saturday, which seeing it all written down does seen like a lot lol but they love it and as long as they're having fun I wouldn't stop them! X

 

[RachA]

I think you have to make sure the balance is right. Remember that your child will want down time and need time for homework.
It's good to encourage them to play without the need for being entertained.

With our son we decided that swimming lessons was essential as we live near the sea and go a lot. So he will have swimming lessons until we consider him a strong enough swimmer.
He then express an interest in both football and tennis. He was told he could only do one. Money wasn't an issue, we wanted him to learn that he couldn't just do everything he wanted. So he did a term of football followed by a term of tennis (at his school you pay per term). Then he has the choice again and he decided to carry in with the tennis.
In September he will be starting Beavers and he will also be old enough to go to a children's club at our church. I'm not sure if he will do this every week as for me being out Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri after school is too much.
For us we have to take into consideration that if DS does 4 activities then its only fair for DD to also do 4. As OH works it'd be me having to take them and I can't split myself in two directions.

 

[Abblebubba]

I would give ta go if she then seems like things are too much im sure she will let it be
known, you may find that she takes to two out of three clubs really well and will perhaps
just progress with the ones she enjoys most