activities for preschooler

[MrsK]

[QUOTE=SuzySunshine;612440]As much as my DH loves the sport of soccer he can't decide if he'll let them play when they're older or not because of the concussions. I'll be amazed I he let's R play football . . .

[\QUOTE]

I'm trying to keep my boys out of contact sports for as long as possible. DrK was recruited for football, wrestling, and rugby in high school and he played rugby through college and thereafter. He's got back injuries and pain his hands that are partially responsible for his choice of specialty -- he couldn't be a surgeon with achy hands and a bad back. It sucks to have a 80yo spine in your 30s. And it's not like rugby put him through college.

[alison]

She's fine on her own for hours at a time, but since she doesn't nap anymore, she does itch to go somewhere at least once/day. Even if we go around the block, that breaks things up a bit and changes her mood if she's cranky.

I just got an email on the parenting listserv for my neighborhood. T-ball for 16-24 month olds! Chew on that one for a little while....

[ides]

I just got an email on the parenting listserv for my neighborhood. T-ball for 16-24 month olds! Chew on that one for a little while....

Seriously?

I do know that it's common for lots of parents to start their kids in sport and music activities around age four. So it's conceivable that by 6 some kids have a knack for certain sports that have been learning for two years. When O was three he was in preschool twice a week and we did a mom's playgroup once a week. At 3.5 we added in two to three times a week Taekwondo. At 3.75 we increased preschool to three days a week (half days) and added in a music class once a week. It felt like a lot to me. Now that O is four he is in preschool four mornings a week and does Taekwondo twice a week, He also has speech lessons once a week. Dh wants to start him in music lessons but I think maybe a tumbling class or nothing more would be good.

So go at your own speed and try to ignore the craziness!

[scrub-jay]

I prioritize swimming lessons (anyone shocked by this?) but I consider it to be a safety/life skill and only later a sport. Otherwise, FT preschool tires her out, so we keep it simple on the weekend. She LOVES swimming at this point, so we're sticking with it.

[Phoebe]

My kids did less as we accumulated more children. I, personally like exposing my kids to different activities. When they were toddlers we used to do story time at the library. They started a Mothers Day Out program once a week at 18 months. At three we usually started a class of some sort and they were in preschool.

Sports are huge in our community. There is only one high school in our town of 80,000 people and you have to start young in order to make the teams and excel in the high school sports. I don't really like that pressure for my kids.

[ladymoreta]

I have DS in a MWF "preschool" for about 3 hours per day. That's really our only activity so far, and I think that's enough for him right now. He's very introverted, so he needs more downtime than a lot of kids I know.

[GrayMatterWife]

My DDs (4 and 2) go to preschool during the day and have no activities outside that. It's a fantastic preschool with a zillion wide-ranging activities. I will enroll DD (4) in Irish dance for cultural reasons after the new year.

I hate hyper-scheduling little kids. I have a lot of affluent, over-educated friends who have their three-year-olds scheduled in different "enrichment" classes every night: mandarin for tots (parents don't speak a word), cello for three-year-olds, and--my personal favorite--ancient language enrichment for preschoolers (learning ancient Greek and classical Latin and their attendant philosophies).

Way too much disposable income. Their poor kids--so smart and no practical skills. They have no idea how to amuse themselves. They come to my house and literally stand, speechless and confused, in front of Legos, because no one is providing them guidance.

Don't get me wrong--activities are great. Some kids really thrive on the structure. I've just seen a lot of parents who do it for them, rather than their kids.

[SoonerTexan]

Sports are a religion here. They start kids SUPER young. We need to discuss what we want to do, and what we're willing to pay.
I see both sides: I played soccer year round (rec), then Varsity in High School, the co-ed rec for 2 years in college. Then, I had reconstructive ankle surgery to fix the damage from an old injury at 16 years of age. I'm not so sure I want that for my children. I understand that there is risk to injury for all sports involved, and that you just deal with it, but I don't know.

The only thing DH and I have agreed on so far is - NO football, NO hockey.

Yep. I see this battle with my sister (freshman in high school now). I wont go into the crap that went with her Select teams, but it was BAD. Last night she was complaining that she didn't get home until 9pm and didn't have enough time to finish her homework. She had a volleyball game and then her freshman team was required to sit and watch the Varsity game and couldn't be doing homework while they are watching.

I'm scared because we want to have a lot of kids and there is no way we can handle the activities for them all if they want to Play X at a high school level. I'm just avoiding the subject for now.

I did sign N up for a "Mommy & Me" swim class. It really is for me...she was acclimated to the water at my in-laws and it isn't like she is really learning how to kick, stroke, etc. at 9 months. She does like it, though. She just does her own thing and splashes every couple of minutes. We do it with a friend, so it's worth it to me now.

I totally agree with Scrub-jay on the swim lessons. I plan to make all our kids do summer swim team (neighborhood or Y team) for a few years no matter what. I don't care if they win any races, but it made my siblings and I great swimmers and I think that is super important for safety reasons. Lessons are awesome, but just don't give them the endurance and practice swim team does.

Finally, DH and I agree about Football. It scares me. Yet, I feel like a total hypocrite because I love college football.

You don't do hockey in Texas unless you are willing to take out a second mortgage and travel to Canada and overseas regularly.

[ladymoreta]

Sheesh, if it takes getting them into competitive sports in preschool, I think I'm going to opt out. While I can appreciate the physical activity and learning teamwork, it's just not that important to me.