after school activities
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After School Activities
By maddysmommy
@maddysmommy (16230)
United States
July 30, 2007 4:00pm CST
Are your children engaged in after school activities? What activities, sports or hobbies do they do?
My son starts full-time kindergarten in September and is interested in learning how to play Soccer, T-Ball, Little League or Basketball (one of these). I am not sure whether I should look into this because being first time in a school setting, and full-time, he might not have any energy by the end of the day to partake in a sport after school.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you allow your children to play sports after school? I think it would be great for him to start learning, but not sure if I should hold off till next year.
5 people like this
12 responses
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
30 Jul 07
You brought up a subject that is really touchy between my ex-husband and myself. I don't mind our son participating in afterschool activities, but some activities - like sports - require more time than he can take. I don't mind the once a week science class after school and scouting, but I find it too hard on all of us to do baseball practice almost every day plus games, it just monopolizes more time than it should during the school year.
Last year there was a family that had 2 boys in our scout troop and between scouting and baseball they were never home. It was hard on the kids and the parents.
I would say hold out and see how he is going to react to school. I know soccer season is coming up soon, but T-Ball/Baseball usually doesn't start until the spring, by then you should know how he is handling school and whatever homework he may have.
3 people like this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
30 Jul 07
Good points there sedel and I think I might just wait until the new year and see how he copes from Sept till Christmas. It's a whole new ballgame from staying at home to attending school full-time, so no doubt he will be tired each day I'm sure. Thanks for your comments. I would rather he enjoy school first and the rest come later.
1 person likes this
@ItTakesAllSorts (4096)
•
1 Aug 07
My kids had so much energy when they were little I used to spend nearly everyday in the park after school come rain or shine!!
They would stay at Playcentre after school when I went back to work and they loved it. They got all the exercise they needed, as schools have cut down over here on physical exercise.
If your son wants to do something after school, then maybe you should give it a go. Maybe only introduce one activity as starting school full time can be tiring for them.
Good luck in September, I hope he has a great time:0)
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
1 Aug 07
Thank you ItTakesAllSorts for you comment. I might just see how he settles into school and then put him into one activity. I know he is keep to play at least one sport. Thanks again.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
31 Jul 07
My son goes for guitar classes once a week and on weekends, he goes for swimming. I would have liked him to take up other activities too, but in India public transport is a big problem and I don’t want to stress him out by too much travel. After all, he has to do his studies too! But put your child into sports, it’s the best way to build them up and it doesn’t tire them as much as you think. With proper nutrition, the body just adapts itself to such activities!
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
Transport would be another factor for us as we don't have a car so I will have to take into consideration how we would get to his lessons. I will put him into at least one type of sports after he settles into Kindergarten as this is the first time he has ever been involved in a full days school class so we shall see how he handles this. Thanks sudiptacallingu.
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
31 Jul 07
When our neighbour's son first started kindergarten, full time, 3 days a week, I was his after school babysitter. The first week I had to pick him up at school. I can't remember why but when I went into the office he was asleep. He was not used to a full day of school. You might want to wait and see if your son is tired out at the end of a school day, or whether your boy is a bundle of energy who could use an extracurricular activity to tire him out at the end of the day. Maybe you already know the answer to that. It is something that should be taken into consideration.
My 14 year old is sometimes so exhausted at the end of a school day that she is too tired to go to Taekwondo. Granted, she doesn't go to sleep at a timely hour, but she says it is because she can't get to sleep. Our kids' soccer activities are limited to the weekends during the school year.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
Yup I think I might just wait. He has tons of energy but has not been in a full days school setting yet and it may just tire him out mentally and not so much physically. I think I will wait and see how he does in school in the first month or two and then go from there. If the games are scheduled for the weekend, then I might look into soccer just so he has something to do other than staying home all day.
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
31 Jul 07
In my opinion, there is no need to worry about the kids not having enough energy. They seem full of energy when it comes to play such that they are willing to forgo sleep. Howver, when it comes to studying or doing homework, that is the time they start to feel sleepy. lol.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
haha I do know what you mean, I was like that back then too LOL
@milfea (519)
• Philippines
31 Jul 07
Hey there Maddysmommy. :)
I'm not yet a Mom myself, I am not even married. LOL. But I am into a Tae Kwon Do (TKD) Gym. I get there an average of three times a week. I do TKD with a bunch of kids. And since I just started, I am with little kids, the youngest among them is four! I am learning TKD with a four year old! LOL. TKD classes start at 5 pm, just after the kids' afternoon classes. The kids are great, and maybe it's because of the sport that made this kids develop a good behaviour, they're very thoughtful and respectful, and they're just great. Many of them are even in their Class Honor Rolls.
I think sports will help your son a lot, even academically. I have grown up taking gymnastics lessons myself, and I could say that it has done great things to me. I thank God for giving my parents the idea of encouraging me into sports. :)
God bless you Maddysmommy, may you find the perfect sport for your child. :)
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
Thank you milfea. My brothers and sisters use to do Tae Kwon Do too years ago, i was the only one that didn't like the sport. It is something my son is also interested in doing. I might just wait and see how he copes in school for the first month or so and then see if there is a studio around our home. We don't have a car so it will have to be within some distance to our home or else i can easily use public transport. Good luck with your classes!
@unisis (1673)
• Indonesia
31 Jul 07
I have one son and two daughter,the oldest in two month is very buzy preparing to the college, everyday he start to go to his school around quarter to six in the morning after his school then he take private lesson till seven PM,the second my daughter is buzy with her extracschool she almost the same with her brother she went to her school at six o'clock and went back around half pass five,I let them to follow their scheduled in their school,and the youngest is not very buzy like her brother.
@re08dz (1941)
• Australia
30 Jul 07
I have three kids and each of them are involved in one after school activity or another - to the point that we're never home and while it can get hard at times - I figure I'd much rather them be actively involved in a sport than either sitting in front of a tv/computer etc or out roaming the streets and getting into who knows what type of trouble.
Having said that my kids are older so it's not as much strain on them to balance school and sport etc - being so young it's probably a bit different but it probably won't hurt to get him involved in one sport/activity one night a week - it's a good learning experience for kids - helps them make new friends - teaches them to be part of a team etc -you just need to weigh up if he's getting too tired etc.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
30 Jul 07
Thank you re08dz, I think maybe looking into one sport would be good for him. I will see how he does in the first week or two of school and then go from there. Thank you for your response.
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
31 Jul 07
It is very cute when boys want to go into sports. He is going to be a manly man. I know that you as a mother may be a little nervous about it, but I think that you should let him at least try out for a sport.
At the least you'll have a better arguement about why he shouldn't do it this year. I learned through watching my oldest niece grow up, that we have to put our fears and questions aside and allow them to follow their dreams.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
Yes I think its cute too. My whole family was right into sports at a young age but i can't remember whether I was playing sports at his age. I think it would be good for him to try out at least one sport just to give him something else to do other than sitting in front of the tv and playing playstation and other things. I might just let him settle into school first and see how he goes with that. But your right about putting our fears aside and letting him pursue his dreams. I think he will very much like playing a sport. Thanks Rozie!
1 person likes this
@Madona1 (2096)
• Gibraltar
31 Jul 07
After school, my girl normally will go to Art lesson on every Friday afternoon and Piano lesson on every Wednesday afternoon. She also wants to go to the Stage Coach but the time doesn’t allow her due to it is also on the Friday afternoon. Normally, we let her decide what activities she likes to take part in, as we know she will quit if she doesn’t like it. She used to go the Ballet school when she was 5, after one term she rejected to go anymore. For the rainbow (Girl’s scout), she left right after one lesson. I think children know what they like and dislike. Parents can only be there to support and encourage them.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
Those are great activities your daughter is involved in. My son likes arts and crafts too and has just finished a months session at the local community center. Now he was to take on a sport and I think he will be fine in one at least. I will see how it goes after he starts school in September, thanks madona!
@Amstardam (1348)
• United States
30 Jul 07
Does your son have a lot of energy during the day? How much does it take for him to get tired?
I think it depends on your son. Being this young there probably won't be a problem with him testing it out. If he can handle it (and you as well) then let him do it. It's a great time for him to get involved in something and develop skills in that area. If he picks soccer and ends up not liking it he still has time to try a different sport before the commitment level gets more serious.
It's also a great way to prevent him from wanting to lounge around. He will get interested in sports rather than video games. And even if he likes video games he will at least have had some time outside getting excerise.
There is nothing wrong with waiting a year either. Is there a deadline where he needs to sign up for these sports? If you can, see how he is after the first few days of school.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
30 Jul 07
He has TONS of energy EVERYDAY. He tires me out quickly LOL If he had his way we could spend hours at the park just playing on the swings and bars. I'm not sure on the deadline for soccer but when we finished up today with his activities at the Vienna Community Center, we saw some kids playing soccer in the gym and he was interested in wanting to learn how to play. Earlier on it was basketball and he was keen on that too. When we got home Naruto was on tv and he was harping on about taking karate classes and starting jumping around and kicking and chopping the air LOL
I might just wait and see how he does in school first, because it is his first time and its a full day class so no doubt he will get tired out for sure, especially during the first week - you know, new routine etc.
I have always played sports when I was younger but can't remember whether I did when I was his age. I think being involved with one sport would be great for him. As the other poster mentioned, making new friends, teamwork etc. Those would be good for him since we are new to this area. Thanks Amsterdam!
@michaeldadona (5684)
• Malaysia
31 Jul 07
Yes my children engaged in after school sports activities. Because sports also a learning class, actually. And we as their parent should encourage them by telling them "Sports Science".
Mastering in both educatioanl and sports will make better for our children's future rather than having only one of two.
1 person likes this
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
31 Jul 07
I agree, thank you michaeldadona, we shall see how he goes with his first days at school in September.
