Do you think your kids need an outside-the-house activity every weekend? (babysitting, baby)
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we live in a big house on a nice lot and when I say we rattle around inside this is what I mean
on nice weather days we are gardening, riding bikes, playing outside, walking the dog, swimming, etc.
on bad weather days (either too hot or too cold):
cooking and freezing meals for the week
crafts, coloring
reading, games
watching family movies or football games
cleaning house as a family
cleaning and laundry
I see our neighbors in their car almost constantly. Both parents have demanding jobs and they have 3 boys, none of whom are driving so parents seem to be on the road constantly. Once this fall I spotted one of the boys actually asleep in the grass and his mom had to wake him to go to some sporting event. I was especially glad we are not such a driven family.
I didn't see this post before I posted my comment above.... I think you guys are fine!! You're spending quality family time together doing fun, interesting things. There is nothing wrong with what you're doing.
Your girls are only 8. They may pick up an outside interest in the next year or 2 (cheerleading, kickline, etc) so worry about it then. For now? I think you're doing great!!!
I don't do any "outside activities" and I never have. I don't particularly like being outside. Except for walking for exercise I stay indoors. Different strokes...etc.
To answer the OP's question, no I don't not think kids need an outside activity every weekend. I cannot believe how busy kids are these days. It seems as though they never have time to just be kids anymore.
My kids are still quite young. Every weekend, we go outside in the yard and play ball or just run around (or play in the snow!). The neighborhood kids will come over sometimes and run around with my children. They make up their own games, kick around the soccer ball, etc. My son is only five, but he is definitely interested in starting the piano soon. My daughter is three, but she's interested in lots of stuff. They'll probably want to start some sort of activity in a couple of years. But for your eight-year-old girls? Just make sure they're getting enough exercise, playing with their friends, participating in what they want to do... but I wouldn't worry about having to do something planned every weekend. As long as they're not sitting around and getting bored and tired, I bet you're doing just fine!
There needs to be a balance between outside activities and staying at home, imo. There is a reason to slow down and pay attention to the quiet things. There are other times when you want to be off and doing activities. Rattling around the house, though, does not have to mean being inside. If you have a yard, I always liked being outside. My kids liked to garden with me. We also baked cookies inside, read books, etc. Being out on the weekend does not have to mean being in the car either. We liked to ride bikes together or to walk to the park.
Dorothy
There needs to be a balance between outside activities and staying at home,Agree with you
When we were kids we hardly ever went out at the weekend, and we didn't even have a yard or garden to play in (we lived in an apartment).
It didn't make us sad, there were tons of things we could do at home, and we both grew up happily!
Of course, I think having an activity out of home is a very good thing, but it's not the end of the world if the child doesn't have one (whatever the reason is).
No, not every weekend. Too many kids are too over-scheduled by parents who feel the need to fill up every second of their children's lives with sports, tutors, lessons.
A few years ago I took my (then) 6 year old Godson to Disneyland. He was falling asleep standing in line. I started to kind of kid him saying, "Come on! Wake up! We're at Disneyland!" and he said he was too tired. Then he started listing all of his activities. I'd have been asleep on my feet as well with the list of things he had lined up for him every day.
Our girls have no real extra ciricular activities. They are 8 and are very busy with school and friends in the neighborhood. This is our 2nd batch of kids and I think our first ones were way too busy.
Anyhow sometimes we rattle around the house the whole weekend without leaving the house. We have lots of books, games, activities and since Dad travels during the week, this is his down time. I make sure the screen time is very limited.
Just wondering if most families are in the car most of the weekend.
I'm a single dad. When my daughter was in grade the organized outside activities were somewhat limited. Scouts (Daiseys, Brownies, Jr GS). On weekends there were sleepovers almost every weekend. We were broke, but had a pool (long story, my second X almost bankrupt me but I did save teh house) so it was usually at our house. We'd go exploring some weekends, even during the winter.
About the time she entered middle school we relocated and it became very apparant that my parents couldn't be by themselves so they moved in with us. They were still mobile, but couldn't maintain their own residence. This allowed my daughter to participate in sports, volleyball and basketball. She wasn't very athletic but enjoyed it. Fortuantely at this point I lived close to work and was able to make every game except one-half of one basketball game (and it was the only time she ever made a basket, damn). She had friends that pretty much lived at our house. Money had cleared up somewhat and we did a lot more on weekends usually with her friends in tow (concerts, road trips, ...). It wasn't every weekend, probably 2 of 4.
Another relocation before high school started (child, partents, and now 2 dogs). Basically the same weekned schedule as middle school. She's in more clubs (math, drama, ...). After she got her liscense scheduling time with her is rather difficult, but we still try. Her friends usually come to our house. But she's mobile now and boys are involved.
Weekend trips, sports, ... all lead to memories. Bt so does grocery shopping and making dinner together. Even watching a favorite TV show does that too (we like Top Chef).
You know - all kids are different. Some prefer to be busier than others. It is difficult when you have one or more of each and try to work things out so everyone is getting what they need. My son is a busy kid. Always has been. We did limit him to one sport per season at about 3rd or 4th grade. He would do everything if he could. Not enough hours in the day for that one. I can't imagine having 3 of those. It may not be that they are overscheduled. It may be that they have 3 kids who are busy kids. It doesn't really have any bearing on decisions you've made for your family though. If your kids are happy doing what you're doing that's all that matters. Even though the neighbors may be driving all the time - that may well be what they want to be doing.
This. Growing up, I did a lot of activities - Brownies, cheering, piano, dance. And I would have done more if my parents let me. And now, at 35, I'm not really a homebody. I don't garden, I don't really enjoy cooking. I spend my weekends running errands, meeting friends for coffee, going to the bookstore. Occasionally, I take a break and chill at home, especially now that I've got a 12-month-old. But I don't wake up Saturday and go, "Oh, boy! I want to spend the day cleaning and doing laundry." LOL. I just do enough to keep things presentable and I leave!
Staying at home, means saving money. Leaving the house with kids, equals spending lots of money...I had a membership to a gym by my house, and took the kids swimming on Friday night, and Saturday night, they had a great time, and it was cheap. We went to the park, hung out with the dog, worked in the yard. So...that was my life. We also went to the library on Saturday afternoons, twice a month. And church on Sunday. My kids never went to the mall, or running around. I kept that to a minimum. If they wanted something, it was written on the paper on the fridge, then we went thru the paper twice a month, to determine if it was a want, or a need. No immediate gratification in our home, no "Mom I NEED this tomorrow for school", nope. You plan for it, or you don't get it.
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This is our 2nd batch of kids and I think our first ones were way too busy.
