Author Topic: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?  (Read 8754 times)

MrsSpendyPants

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 138
How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« on: February 12, 2022, 03:12:14 PM »
My three year old came home saying he wanted to play soccer.  I guess there is a company that comes to the daycare for eight sessions and teaches the toddlers soccer "skills."  I went to sign him up - it's $96 for 8 half hour sessions and this occurs during daycare hours so I'm still paying for the daycare during that time.  Fine.  Signed him up and during checkout learned there was a $25 annual registration fee.  $121 for four total hours of three years old running around chasing a ball.

The cost shocks me so I want to be better prepared.

If you have a kid under ten years old and they do extracurricular activities, how much do you spend annually on extracurriculars?

Edited to change the greater than to less than, typo
« Last Edit: February 13, 2022, 02:42:41 PM by MrsSpendyPants »

havregryn

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 639
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2022, 04:25:25 AM »
We live in a tiny super expensive country in Europe so maybe not directly comparable to anywhere else but just for info:
Our 8 year old does fencing. The annual fee for the club is 270€ (306 US$), but the last two years we were getting 50€ off because of frequent covid closures. They have trainings twice per week and I find this quite affordable in our overall context (where everything is ridiculously expensive). There's also some expensive equipment to be bought there and I think eventually if he wants to travel to competitions we will see why this is considered an expensive sport.

He is also a member of a drama club at school and we pay 80€ per year for that.

We also have a 2 and 5 year old and them I sometimes take to a pay per session 15€/hour/kid  here https://www.littlelionsluxembourg.com/
Not really sure what to call this, it started some years ago as some kind of toddler rugby (lol) but it evolved into a fun and well-rounded sports session. Kids like this a lot. The price feels  a bit more steep but we don't go all the time and I like the pay per session model, it removes the pressure to go all the time. We found that committing to a regular activity for three kids really kills our family time.


maisymouser

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 550
  • Age: 32
  • Location: NC
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2022, 04:35:09 AM »
My three year old came home saying he wanted to play soccer.  I guess there is a company that comes to the daycare for eight sessions and teaches the toddlers soccer "skills."  I went to sign him up - it's $96 for 8 half hour sessions and this occurs during daycare hours so I'm still paying for the daycare during that time.  Fine.  Signed him up and during checkout learned there was a $25 annual registration fee.  $121 for four total hours of three years old running around chasing a ball.

The cost shocks me so I want to be better prepared.

If you have a kid under ten years old and they do extracurricular activities, how much do you spend annually on extracurriculars?

I have one 3yo myself and do not consider myself a "frugal parenting expert", but it seems like this is an opportunity to set yourself and your child up for success in this domain by saying no.i outright refused what is likely the same national soccer program at our preschool.

There are a wild number of totally free activities that a 3yo can do. I would have just said no and given 1:1 at home soccer lessons and or bring a friend over to play. Kid upset? Tough, we do not have the budget to spend that kind of hourly rate on him during paid preschool hours no less. Maybe when they are a "big kid". If you are worried that lack of participating with their peers in an expensive activity when they want will do serious ment and emotional tharm to them, I think you've got a whole lot of major grief ahead. Maybe consider this a relatively cheap opportunity to not say yes to that kind of thing next time until you see the full cost and can assess?

That said I also want to hear what is normal for the mmm crowd in this domain. I certainly want to have my kid in extracurriculars that will definitely not be free someday.

Cranky

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3842
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2022, 05:31:09 AM »
You are paying for the convenience of having this happen during daycare hours, which means that you don’t have to go to practice once/week and a “game” once/week. You don’t have to bring snack.

Of course there are cheaper ways to do this but it means that it cuts into your evenings or weekends.

Our 5yo gson did soccer through the rec dept last summer and it was maybe $35 for 6 weeks. Those games were possibly the cutest, funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

The same 5yo takes piano lessons once/week and I think that’s $25. He also takes swimming lessons.




economista

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1035
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Colorado
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2022, 06:30:41 AM »
My daughter is 2 and I signed her up for gymnastics through our rec center. Sessions are 45 minutes on Saturday mornings and it was $48 per month.

Pre-covid I taught judo. My toddler class (3-5 y.o.) was a half hour per session, 2 afternoons per week, for $20 per month. The 6-12 year old class was 1.5 hours, 2 afternoons per week, and $60 per month. 

tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #5 on: February 13, 2022, 06:42:21 AM »
My kids are teens now and all of them are in activities and travel sports.

First, I don't think it's necessary or even beneficial for a 3yo, other than maybe for socialization but you have daycare for that. But we live in a world where every parent wants to give their kid an "Edge" as much as possible and from early as possible (also why kids get burnt out and can't occupy their own time) and once one parent does it then other parents don't for guilt or fear of the little one falling behind......ave seen it all the time and it still goes on into the teens.....and it doesn't matter for the most part.   I do love having conversations with parents of teens that for all these years had prodigies or the next LeBron or Gretzky or Bill Gates and they are coming to realize that is far from the case. 

Don't get me wrong, there were times I had guilt and doubts when one of their kids were put into a higher tier of a travel sport at a considerably higher cost and I would question if I was shortchanging my kids bc I thought the two were similar in skill set.....well fast forward to high school sports and their skill sets are still fairly similar with a slight edge (haha) to the higher tier player but none of them will be playing beyond high school.  Do sports for the right reasons not for going pro or getting scholarships, which are gravy lottery tix if it happens.

Secondly, think of it from the business side.  It seems like a lot of money for four hours but they want and need to make money and sure gear like balls and cones don't cost much there is also the hidden costs of taxes, transportation, non-revenue time such as going from one daycare to the next and so on.  Think about it, people seem to have no problem paying $20 to have someone come let their dog out for 15 minutes. 

It's a service and our choice to pay or not, just don't fall into the edge or guilt trap.   


 

BZB

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 409
  • Location: Houston, Texas
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2022, 11:48:31 AM »
Scouts BSA, about $500/year, which is the annual fees, monthly camping trip costs, and will pay a bit more every other year when we do an out of state summer trip or need different size uniform, but fundraising helps with the extra costs.
Currently doing advanced swim lessons - $50/month, will keep going until desired skill goals are reached

Cassie

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7946
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #7 on: February 13, 2022, 12:44:19 PM »
When my kids were playing sports I looked for nonprofits that offered them. It was always reasonable, no emphasis on winning and everyone got to play regardless of ability. So for instance they played t ball and baseball but not with Little League.

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2022, 01:17:20 PM »
My three year old came home saying he wanted to play soccer.  I guess there is a company that comes to the daycare for eight sessions and teaches the toddlers soccer "skills."  I went to sign him up - it's $96 for 8 half hour sessions and this occurs during daycare hours so I'm still paying for the daycare during that time.  Fine.  Signed him up and during checkout learned there was a $25 annual registration fee.  $121 for four total hours of three years old running around chasing a ball.

The cost shocks me so I want to be better prepared.

If you have a kid under ten years old and they do extracurricular activities, how much do you spend annually on extracurriculars?

They had this at my kid's daycare.  We never did it because he didn't ask and I agreed with your take on it.  If he had asked, I would have probably signed him up, honestly, because he hated joining activities and it would have been the first time he asked to join a group activity.  Instead, we did swim lessons at the local YMCA and soccer for tots at the rec center in the neighboring town.  Both were very cheap.  We now do sports in through our city recreation department and they are free or very low cost.  We don't do private clubs, travel teams, or other more competitive options through other towns. 

We do spend more than I would like on dance/music lessons, as well as summer camps.
My kids are teens now and all of them are in activities and travel sports.

First, I don't think it's necessary or even beneficial for a 3yo, other than maybe for socialization but you have daycare for that. But we live in a world where every parent wants to give their kid an "Edge" as much as possible and from early as possible (also why kids get burnt out and can't occupy their own time) and once one parent does it then other parents don't for guilt or fear of the little one falling behind......ave seen it all the time and it still goes on into the teens.....and it doesn't matter for the most part.   I do love having conversations with parents of teens that for all these years had prodigies or the next LeBron or Gretzky or Bill Gates and they are coming to realize that is far from the case. 

Don't get me wrong, there were times I had guilt and doubts when one of their kids were put into a higher tier of a travel sport at a considerably higher cost and I would question if I was shortchanging my kids bc I thought the two were similar in skill set.....well fast forward to high school sports and their skill sets are still fairly similar with a slight edge (haha) to the higher tier player but none of them will be playing beyond high school.  Do sports for the right reasons not for going pro or getting scholarships, which are gravy lottery tix if it happens.

Secondly, think of it from the business side.  It seems like a lot of money for four hours but they want and need to make money and sure gear like balls and cones don't cost much there is also the hidden costs of taxes, transportation, non-revenue time such as going from one daycare to the next and so on.  Think about it, people seem to have no problem paying $20 to have someone come let their dog out for 15 minutes. 

It's a service and our choice to pay or not, just don't fall into the edge or guilt trap. 

It can be very expensive and a number of families that have gone all in on their 9 year old's hockey or baseball career.  Like thousands of dollars in gear and fees each year, not to mention the costs of hotels and restaurants for out of town tournaments every weekend.  It's utter insanity from my vantage point.  And for what, as mentioned above?  These kids aren't playing after high school and maybe college for some.  I'm not interested making my kid compete for a college scholarships in a sport.  If they have a burning desire to compete at the level, I will support them, but at this age 7+, it's the parents that are putting kids into competitive and expensive programs.  Maybe they are legitimately going after scholarships because they can't save any money for college (it's all being spent on sports before college).

Morning Glory

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4866
  • Location: The Garden Path
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2022, 05:27:34 PM »
That is insane. Why can't the daycare just give the kids a ball to play with instead of hiring a company? Makes no sense.

BZB

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 409
  • Location: Houston, Texas
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2022, 05:56:56 PM »
@MrsSpendyPants I answered above based on your previous title, >10 years old. The <10 years old extracurriculars cost less, but after school care and summer childcare cost more.

Freedomin5

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6484
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2022, 10:14:33 PM »
We spend way more than we want because we live in an expensive neighborhood in an expensive city, and we're paying a premium to go to the place that's a 5-minute bike ride from home (versus a two-hour round trip). DD's art classes are $50/week. She also has Chinese lessons once a week -- that costs us $20/lesson.

chemistk

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1739
  • Location: Mid-Atlantic
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2022, 06:05:45 AM »
I think by the time he turns 7, we will have spent about $250-$300 (ish) for our 6 year old's extracurricular activities.

2x $60 for a season of soccer (spring and fall)
1x $30 for swimming lessons
~$60 total for 3 different summer camp/activity weeks (hosted by our rec center)
The rest (it's slushy) for cub scouts.

For a year's activities, this is definitely on the cheaper side but it's also been worth it for us. He's a high-energy (possibly ADHD, we find out this week) kid who benefits from heavy social interaction mixed with heavy engaging activity. There are times where we wish we could do even more with him, but our schedule won't allow right now.

I see us spending about the same over the course of the next year for him, plus about $120 for our 4 year old (when he decides he's done with diapers).

In a few years, it's very possible that we'll be spending $750 a year on extracurriculars total for our 3 boys. 

startingsmall

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 837
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2022, 08:46:14 AM »
My 9 year old takes acrobatics and is in Girl Scouts.

Acrobatics is at a local dance studio. She goes for 1 hr/wk and we pay $50/month, plus $90 for the end-of-year recital costume. She has recently mentioned maybe wanting to switch to a gymnastics studio and trying to be part of a competition team, but I don't know that she's really interested enough to make it worth it. I'm trying to low-key discourage that right now, while emphasizing that it will be a much bigger time commitment. If she really gets her heart set on it, though, we'd probably allow it.

She's an independent (Juliette) Girl Scout, which means she doesn't belong to a troop. Doing it that way costs a bit more, for various reasons related to how fundraising money is allocated, but works better for us because it lets her participate in council events, campouts, etc. without committing to weekly troop meetings. Between registration, events, and uniform/badges, we probably will spend $200ish this year.

She was in violin lessons for several years (her choice, and I only okayed it after much begging) at a cost of $150/month. Between the long drive to lessons, the need for me to help her practice daily, etc., I didn't put up too much of a fight when she finally decided that she was ready to give it up.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2022, 09:03:04 AM by startingsmall »

englishteacheralex

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3892
  • Age: 44
  • Location: Honolulu, HI
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #14 on: February 14, 2022, 08:57:18 AM »
I thought Soccer Shots was an awesome idea but I didn't have either of my kids participate because I'm too cheap.

We have them (now ages 5 and 7) in some activities. I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time. I've had them in many sessions of swimming lessons. I did sign my 7 year old up for a weekly skateboarding clinic that was $380 for three months. That was extremely expensive but he loved it and is obsessed with skateboarding. I thought lessons would help him avoid injury and have more fun with it.

Right now my 5 year old is in a weekly ballet class for $58/month. We recently got an email about the spring recital that will cost $70 + $50 for the costume + $20 per ticket to the show, plus we have to babysit all the kids during one of the dress rehearsals + we have to bring a baked treat for the bake sale fundraiser. My husband said no way, not for a 5 year old, so I discontinued the class for next month and am now shopping around for a new activity. Thinking piano lessons. My daughter is always begging for piano lessons. But we may just do nothing for a while. They're still kinda young for activities, in my opinion.
« Last Edit: February 14, 2022, 09:01:49 AM by englishteacheralex »

StarBright

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3270
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your >10 year olds?
« Reply #15 on: February 14, 2022, 09:05:42 AM »
My three year old came home saying he wanted to play soccer.  I guess there is a company that comes to the daycare for eight sessions and teaches the toddlers soccer "skills."  I went to sign him up - it's $96 for 8 half hour sessions and this occurs during daycare hours so I'm still paying for the daycare during that time.  Fine.  Signed him up and during checkout learned there was a $25 annual registration fee.  $121 for four total hours of three years old running around chasing a ball.

The cost shocks me so I want to be better prepared.

If you have a kid under ten years old and they do extracurricular activities, how much do you spend annually on extracurriculars?

I have one 3yo myself and do not consider myself a "frugal parenting expert", but it seems like this is an opportunity to set yourself and your child up for success in this domain by saying no.i outright refused what is likely the same national soccer program at our preschool.


I also said no to this program. My older kid never mentioned it, but he isn't a group sports person. My younger child was the only kid in her class who hadn't been signed up for it and had to sit on the sidelines and watch the other children play  - we eventually paid because she was so upset for missing out and the facility couldn't offer her other options during soccer shots time due to staffing issues.

Otherwise we joined the Y as a family and they offered v. discounted classes for members. Both my kids did swimming classes and karate classes for 5-10 dollars a session. We tried dance once but the costume was like 80 bucks and my daughter didn't enjoy it so we never did it again.

Daughter is currently doing violin, but it is free through my husband's job. Son might start Cello for the same reason (just the cost of instrument rental). Son did piano for a year - $80 a month, but lost interest when he hit the practice wall.

Neither of my kids were interested in team sports until the last year or so and now they are 8 and 10 and have essentially gotten too old to start playing them. Youth activities are really interesting!

Marley09

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 41
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #16 on: February 14, 2022, 10:19:55 AM »
*snip*    it's $96 for 8 half hour sessions and this occurs during daycare hours so I'm still paying for the daycare during that time
If you have a kid under ten years old and they do extracurricular activities, how much do you spend annually on extracurriculars?


The bolded above is why I refused to sign my kids up for this program, even when all of the other kids were doing it.  I am already paying daycare a boatload of money each week to watch my children, why is this program not included as part of the tuition if it is happening during school hours?  This just odd to me.  My kids both asked to do this program and seemed interested in soccer, so I looked into it and found a program that was outside of school hours and cost about half of what the daycare program cost. 

All that being said, my son (7) is very high energy (like me) and we have him involved in something all year round, so I am not opposed to paying for sports/extracurricular.  I would rather pay for him to be active and having fun with other kids his age, than playing Roblox on his tablet.  As for sports and their cost:  He currently does baseball in the spring and fall ($90 per season), swim team in the summer ($185 total), flag football in the fall ($149 total) and basketball in the winter ($100 total).    $614 total per year. 

My daughter (5) does dance 1 hour a week, which is $56 a month.  This is a "starter" dance program (because she is 5) and I went with the lower cost option to make sure that she enjoys dance.  The other dance programs around us are $150+ per month (yikes!), which I am not willing to spend yet.  $672 total per year.

As another poster pointed out, activities outside of school involve driving, practices, games, snacks, etc.  This is one of the aspects of parenting that I was most looking forward to and I am happy that my kids are finally at this age.  I love going to my kids practices and games. I have very fond memories of my parents and bonding with them when driving to swim meets or away games and I hope to have something similar with my kids too.     

FLBiker

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1786
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Canada
    • Chop Wood Carry FIRE
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #17 on: February 14, 2022, 11:42:38 AM »
Our 6 year old does soccer a couple of times a year ($50 CAD for an hour a week for 6 weeks) and she's doing gymnastics ($160 CAD for an hour a week for 8 weeks).  Gymnastics feels expensive to me, but soccer is all volunteer run (I was a coach) and provides a shirt, shorts, socks and a ball so it kind of spoiled me.  I have 0 interest in pursuing any of this to the level of travel sports, competitions, etc., but if my wife wants to drive her around to that stuff, it isn't a hill I will die on.

Erma

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 791
  • Location: Switzerland
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #18 on: February 14, 2022, 01:18:34 PM »
My 3 year old goes to a playgroup once per week for 2.5 hours. This costs 250 CHF for 6 months. We can walk there and they take snacks from home.

jac941

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 284
  • Location: SF Bay Area
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #19 on: February 14, 2022, 05:56:23 PM »
I would pay MORE for an activity offered during my kids’ school or aftercare hours. I don’t have to schlep them to practice, games, etc. That would be worth more, not less to me.

We live in a high cost of living area and encourage our kids to participate in one sport or extracurricular of their choice at a time staring when they were 5-6 yrs old. In addition we force them to take swimming lessons from late spring to early fall.

Our son likes baseball and played fall ball (skill building) and does little league in spring. It’s about $500 in registration fees a year plus clothes, cleats, glove, bat, helmet, snacks on snack day, etc. as needed. Probably around $700 a year all in depending on how much he outgrows things.

Our daughter likes soccer, but prefers skills classes over league play (thankfully). We pay ~$90/month plus cleats, shin guards, clothing. Probably also around $700 a year, but she plays more months of the year and gets more hand me downs.

Swimming is expensive and our kids don’t like it, but we require it because we spend a lot of time at a family member’s house with a pool. I don’t recall exactly what we spent last year, but it’s in the ballpark of $300 / month for both kids for ~4 months a year. So $1,200 for 2 kids.

They’ve also dabbled in other sports, gymnastics, art classes, math and robotics classes, and other various things that run between $80-$120 per month. But that’s usually instead of one of their usual sports, not in addition to.

Neither kid wants music lessons, but both enjoy Simply Piano. We got a free mediocre keyboard, paid $60 for 3 months of Simply Piano and paid about $40 for MIDI adapters and headphones and things. So we’re about $100 in for 2 kids for 3 months. If they’re still into it at the end, I’ll pay $150 for the year subscription. And if they’re still into then, maybe we’ll get a better digital piano and actual lessons. I’m not holding my breath.

la Condessa

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 101
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #20 on: February 15, 2022, 07:21:55 AM »
Team sports through the community rec department run about $25-$45 per kid per season, varying with sport and age group, if you are paying the early-bird registration price.  Music lessons are $50 to $100 per month, varying with how advanced the student is and therefore what level of instructor they need.  My son's cello rental is another $80 per month (this is rent-to-own, so we do keep the asset to trade back in the value towards a full-sized instrument).  Horseback riding lessons were $80 per month.  Gymnastics were $45 to $120 per month, from a cute little preschooler-aged weekly class up through competition gymnastics three days a week (this could be a lot more, our local gym is pretty cheap).  A 12-week online art class was $200.

I'm sure these rates vary with location, but this is what we've paid.  Not out of our own budget though, actually.  I homeschool through a public charter school that pays for our curriculum, outside classes, and extracurriculars during the school year, so we only pay for extracurriculars during the summer.  (This makes it worthwhile to go with the rent-to-own for the cello vs. just buying it outright, because the charter school will pay the monthly rental fees, but not a purchase, for an instrument during the school year.)

merula

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1612
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #21 on: February 15, 2022, 09:48:41 AM »
I pay about $500/year per kid for sports/activities for my 9 and 7 y/os in a MCOL city. $100/session for after school programs (they've done art, chess and fencing), $100-200 for outside of school sports programs (they've done soccer, tennis, track, baseball, cross country and downhill skiing, although some of those sessions were free).

My kids have two very different personalities; one introvert homebody and one extrovert Do-All-The-Things type. I'd be more likely to make a "that's too expensive" call for the extrovert; he'd be just as happy to do a cheaper alternative. For the introvert, I want him to find something he likes to do that's not video games, and the costs we're seeing now seem more than worth it.

I have also said that I would set them up for private lessons on anything they wanted to do (sports, music, art, etc.) if they committed to practicing 30 minutes a day for as long as the lessons went on. This comes up a few times a year but neither has taken me up on it yet. For me, this seems like a good way to balance spending money to learn a skill or develop a passion with wasting money on stuff the kids ultimately don't care about.

CNM

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 700
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #22 on: February 15, 2022, 10:08:38 AM »
We pay a lot for our 9 year old's extra curriculars.  The little league baseball and tennis he does seasonally is not all that expensive, but the music lessons ($$$) and weekly ski program ($$$$$) is significant. But, he enjoys it, we think it's worthwhile, and we can afford it, so we do it.  Our almost-3 year old, on the other hand, has no "extra curriculars."  She goes to day care and that's sufficient for her needs and abilities.

Chris Pascale

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1335
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #23 on: February 17, 2022, 10:29:29 PM »
Varies on interests.

Oldest began violin at 6, and all the kids started other music lessons, too, but not all stuck with it.

Sports were generally inexpensive, but at that age never free.

dabighen

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 115
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #24 on: February 18, 2022, 04:53:07 PM »
The best bang for your buck are the "sport a day" camps, usually at your local YMCA.  In my opinion, kids really wont know what they love to do unless they test everything.  By the time they stick to something, it will be more worth the investment at around 9 or 10 years old.

stoaX

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1008
  • Location: South Carolina
  • 'tis nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #25 on: February 18, 2022, 05:55:45 PM »
 I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time.

That was our rule when we raised our kids. Sanity is important.

c-kat

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #26 on: February 19, 2022, 03:08:23 PM »
I find activities are very expensive here in Ontario. Our kids aren't in much right now because of covid but this summer we will start up again.  We plan to do swimming and one other activity for each child.

Sports are the cheapest, about $180 for the summer.  Dance, which my oldest loves is currently $700 for one class a week for the school year, but when they get older it goes to two classes a week, then three if they want to compete which ends up being about 2K a year, plus outfits.

Swimming is about $50 per lesson.

Martial arts is $200 a month which I find very expensive but we do plan to send each kid for at least one year as I think self defence is good to learn.

Girl guides is only $200 a year so we might try that as they can make friends outside of school and learn lots of new skills.

I'm fine with spending the money if the activity is worthwhile.  When my oldest was one, I put her in group music stuff and found it no better than the free baby and me time at the public library so didn't sign my second up for it.

JGS1980

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 907
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #27 on: February 20, 2022, 11:35:11 AM »
Certain things are just worth the money. Team sports, music instruments, martial arts all fit into that category for my family.

I would never spend money on these luxuries if we didn't have our FIRE plans all set up and cruising, but I feel we'd be letting our kids down if we didn't give them the freedom to pursue their respective interests.

We do LOTS of soccer, some basketball, some ice hockey, and swimming in the summer. All are fairly reasonably priced in our community. All have 1-2 levels above for travel or elite athletics that we only choose to partake if we feel the value is there. We do lots of pick up sports as well that adults try to arrange for the kids.

There's a lot to learn in team sports as well as individual extra-curricular pursuits. What you learn in these activities will serve you well in whatever you choose to do long term in life.

*I would also add the reason a lot of our children don't get to just go out and play in our communities with each other is because the PARENTS don't allow it, not the lack of desire from the kids. We've all been trained to be AFRAID about our kids going out and about no matter how safe it is in our community. This is a huge disservice to multiple generations of kids now who have not really got a chance to explore the world out on their own. IMHO, It would be really unfair to disallow some freedom of movement while also limiting their activities due to fear/cost/time/etc...

merula

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1612
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #28 on: February 22, 2022, 07:35:22 AM »
I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time.

That was our rule when we raised our kids. Sanity is important.

My parents had this rule. My brother picked hockey, and so the whole family schlepped along to 3x weekly practices, 2x weekly games and regular full-weekend tournaments.

I meanwhile had to choose between 1x/week Girl Scouts and 1x/weekly gymnastics, both of which had easy carpool opportunities, and GS met at my school after school. Neither thing I was interested in expected parent spectators or help with equipment like tying skates.

This is why I manage my children's activities by time/effort commitment rather than number of activities.

JGS1980

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 907
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #29 on: February 22, 2022, 10:10:18 AM »
I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time.

That was our rule when we raised our kids. Sanity is important.

My parents had this rule. My brother picked hockey, and so the whole family schlepped along to 3x weekly practices, 2x weekly games and regular full-weekend tournaments.

I meanwhile had to choose between 1x/week Girl Scouts and 1x/weekly gymnastics, both of which had easy carpool opportunities, and GS met at my school after school. Neither thing I was interested in expected parent spectators or help with equipment like tying skates.

This is why I manage my children's activities by time/effort commitment rather than number of activities.

Good point

tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #30 on: February 24, 2022, 05:23:15 AM »
I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time.

That was our rule when we raised our kids. Sanity is important.

My parents had this rule. My brother picked hockey, and so the whole family schlepped along to 3x weekly practices, 2x weekly games and regular full-weekend tournaments.

I meanwhile had to choose between 1x/week Girl Scouts and 1x/weekly gymnastics, both of which had easy carpool opportunities, and GS met at my school after school. Neither thing I was interested in expected parent spectators or help with equipment like tying skates.

This is why I manage my children's activities by time/effort commitment rather than number of activities.

Good point

I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!   

merula

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1612
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #31 on: February 24, 2022, 06:24:13 AM »
I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #32 on: February 24, 2022, 06:32:07 AM »
I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

I don't understand the posts about hockey requiring travel. My kid plays hockey through our recreation department and doesn't travel.

tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #33 on: February 24, 2022, 01:57:37 PM »

I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

As I said, it can suck bad.  I wish they didn't overlap but these things go at all times of the year. 

I don't understand the posts about hockey requiring travel. My kid plays hockey through our recreation department and doesn't travel.

Could depend where you live but also depends on the competitive level.   There are non travel leagues the quality and commitment fades quickly.  It applies to most sports.  Rec leagues are no match for travel.

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #34 on: February 24, 2022, 02:59:33 PM »

I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

As I said, it can suck bad.  I wish they didn't overlap but these things go at all times of the year. 

I don't understand the posts about hockey requiring travel. My kid plays hockey through our recreation department and doesn't travel.

Could depend where you live but also depends on the competitive level.   There are non travel leagues the quality and commitment fades quickly.  It applies to most sports.  Rec leagues are no match for travel.

I get that but why does the level of competitiveness matter? Parents complain about travel sports but they aren't a requirement. Your kid is probably not going to NHL

tooqk4u22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2833
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #35 on: February 25, 2022, 09:40:12 AM »

I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

As I said, it can suck bad.  I wish they didn't overlap but these things go at all times of the year. 

I don't understand the posts about hockey requiring travel. My kid plays hockey through our recreation department and doesn't travel.

Could depend where you live but also depends on the competitive level.   There are non travel leagues the quality and commitment fades quickly.  It applies to most sports.  Rec leagues are no match for travel.

I get that but why does the level of competitiveness matter? Parents complain about travel sports but they aren't a requirement. Your kid is probably not going to NHL

You are right, probably no pro sports in th future or even college scholarships but it's about being better.   No different than them being in AP classes in school.   Not everyone can play or learn at higher levels but they should play or learn at levels that challenge them....good for the body, good for the brain, good for life skills, etc.  I guess I could have been satisfied with a minimum wage job even though I knew I was smarter and more capable and wanted more......

You could just as easily say why even play rec sports when they could just play pickup games or shoot the puck by yourself in the driveway.   


charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #36 on: February 25, 2022, 01:15:57 PM »

I have 3 kids and oldest is a hockey player (feels like 10 activities at once) but bc they got the choice we let the other two pursue activities that were more time/travel intensive to be fair......so yeah 3 kids in travel sports....what a f'in time, logistics, and money suck.   Embrace the suck!

That sounds awful, to be honest. I don't know what I'd do if my kids both wanted a travel sport, I don't think I could deal with 2 let alone 3.

Are they at least in different seasons?

As I said, it can suck bad.  I wish they didn't overlap but these things go at all times of the year. 

I don't understand the posts about hockey requiring travel. My kid plays hockey through our recreation department and doesn't travel.

Could depend where you live but also depends on the competitive level.   There are non travel leagues the quality and commitment fades quickly.  It applies to most sports.  Rec leagues are no match for travel.

I get that but why does the level of competitiveness matter? Parents complain about travel sports but they aren't a requirement. Your kid is probably not going to NHL

You are right, probably no pro sports in th future or even college scholarships but it's about being better.   No different than them being in AP classes in school.   Not everyone can play or learn at higher levels but they should play or learn at levels that challenge them....good for the body, good for the brain, good for life skills, etc.  I guess I could have been satisfied with a minimum wage job even though I knew I was smarter and more capable and wanted more......

You could just as easily say why even play rec sports when they could just play pickup games or shoot the puck by yourself in the driveway.

I think comparing this to working a minimum wage job or playing alone in the driveway is a bit of a exaggeration. There are plenty of decent sports programs that don't involve travel.  (And AP classes are very overrated as far as educational experiences go.)  The travel sports team system seems more like a status symbol than anything else.  And it tends to attract parents that are often unpleasant attend games with.

VaCPA

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 270
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #37 on: March 02, 2022, 09:28:39 AM »
We live in a HCOL area, but we spend a lot on the kids activities. Still far less than what we were spending on FT daycare for so many years though, so doesn't feel bad in relative terms

5 year old - has done various fairly expensive activities. Did ballet for 3-4 months. Right now doing gymnastics and piano once a week. I don't know the exact cost but over $100/month each. She's doing soccer which is something like $150 for the spring season. She does swim once a week too which is over $100/month.

9 year old - swim 2 nights a week at an expensive swim school which is about $200/month, although cheaper during the summer because he does swim team at our neighborhood pool. Does seasonal sports which vary but we can call that $100-150/month depending on season.

11 year old - same as 9 year old but doesn't swim

I guess we can call that $1,000/month or so? Not counting any equipment/supplies needed but luckily the activities/sports they do don't require heavy investment in equipment like some do. It all comes in chunks so doesn't feel like that much but definitely adds up.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2022, 09:30:19 AM by VaCPA »

JGS1980

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 907
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #38 on: March 02, 2022, 12:10:15 PM »
We live in a HCOL area, but we spend a lot on the kids activities. Still far less than what we were spending on FT daycare for so many years though, so doesn't feel bad in relative terms

5 year old - has done various fairly expensive activities. Did ballet for 3-4 months. Right now doing gymnastics and piano once a week. I don't know the exact cost but over $100/month each. She's doing soccer which is something like $150 for the spring season. She does swim once a week too which is over $100/month.

9 year old - swim 2 nights a week at an expensive swim school which is about $200/month, although cheaper during the summer because he does swim team at our neighborhood pool. Does seasonal sports which vary but we can call that $100-150/month depending on season.

11 year old - same as 9 year old but doesn't swim

I guess we can call that $1,000/month or so? Not counting any equipment/supplies needed but luckily the activities/sports they do don't require heavy investment in equipment like some do. It all comes in chunks so doesn't feel like that much but definitely adds up.

Just for comparison in a MCOL place, also 3 kids. Ice Hockey,  Travel Soccer, Rec Soccer, Rec Basketball, Local Summer Swim Club, Music Classes, ALL associated equipment -> Total 6500$ per year.  So approx 550/month.  Money well spent as far as I'm concerned, and I'm pretty damn frugal!

MaybeBabyMustache

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5353
    • My Wild Ride to FI
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #39 on: March 02, 2022, 01:45:31 PM »
I live in a VHCOL, & have two teens, who now play high school team sports. Ironically, high school sports are really cheap (suggested donation of $200, due to lack of funding in our school district.) However, I know of no one who plays high school level sports in our area that didn't invest quite a bit of time/money in either club or something similar. Our kids started playing club soccer in 1st & 2nd grade.

Club soccer is about $3k/kid, and goes about 8 months of the year, three days/week (practice), with games on weekends. My younger son picked up tennis during COVID, and made it on the school tennis team, but took some private lessons to get there. Nothing fancy, these are at our local neighborhood court. My son will be working as an assistant to the coach this summer, in a trade for free lessons.

Team sports were very important to me, and have been worth the financial investment. I'd feel otherwise if we weren't in great shape financially otherwise. At this point, I have the luxury of reflecting back (3 years left with the kids at our house) & am happy we stuck with the sports they enjoyed & provided the support so they could play on a high school team. It's been great for their social development, friendships & camaraderie.

What's actually most challenging for us is transportation & logistics of school sports (middle & high school). No transportation is provided, & for away games, the kids need to be picked up well ahead of school dismissal. We carpool where we can, but it's still a crunch with work. I'm in the home stretch of FIRE, & able to largely organize my schedule around them. COVID/WFH has been a huge advantage in that regard. 

BDWW

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 733
  • Location: MT
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #40 on: March 02, 2022, 02:21:55 PM »
I think this is an area where the Mustachian focus on ROI goes a bit overboard. Playing college ball or going Pro are not the only or even main reasons to play sports/compete.  There's fitness and social aspects, as well as learning experiences related to effort/reward, resiliency in regards to losses and failures, etc. ad nauseam. 

3 years old is a bit young for most kids though, 5-6 seems to be about the age where most of the kids on our kids soccer teams could focus and start to really grasp things.


JGS1980

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 907
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #41 on: March 02, 2022, 02:28:25 PM »
What's the ROI of learning how to exercise beginning at a young age?

DadJokes

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2360
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #42 on: March 02, 2022, 03:04:07 PM »
We paid for our child to get swim lessons when he was two last year. It was $85 and included eight 30-minute sessions. He was much more comfortable in the water, and I don't regret it in the slightest. In fact, we'll probably do it again this summer.

I wouldn't do what you described for a toddler.

I played all the sports when I was a kid, and if my son wants to play sports, I will certainly go along with it once he's 5+ years old. But I'm under no delusion that he's eventually going to be a professional athlete, so we're not doing travel ball and all that nonsense.

jac941

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 284
  • Location: SF Bay Area
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #43 on: March 02, 2022, 11:31:09 PM »
What's the ROI of learning how to exercise beginning at a young age?

It’s priceless. Learning to enjoy exercise of some sort is right up there with learning to enjoy learning. Both valuable life skills that will serve a person throughout their life. Both easier to develop when young.

It doesn’t have to happen through formal extracurricular activities which was the original question. But it’s definitely something I think is important. This is why I encourage my kids to do one activity or sport at a time.

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #44 on: March 03, 2022, 05:15:16 AM »
What's the ROI of learning how to exercise beginning at a young age?

It’s priceless. Learning to enjoy exercise of some sort is right up there with learning to enjoy learning. Both valuable life skills that will serve a person throughout their life. Both easier to develop when young.

It doesn’t have to happen through formal extracurricular activities which was the original question. But it’s definitely something I think is important. This is why I encourage my kids to do one activity or sport at a time.

Yes, it doesn't have to be learned through high priced organizations and it's definitely not lost on mustachians, the opposite in fact.  One of MMM's core recommendations is bike riding instead of driving.  Lots of families in my area bike or walk to school with their kids.  In fact, I'd argue that non-paid exercise with your child at a young age will have a much bigger return than signing them up for pricey teams organizations and clubs.

VaCPA

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 270
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #45 on: March 03, 2022, 05:21:30 AM »
We live in a HCOL area, but we spend a lot on the kids activities. Still far less than what we were spending on FT daycare for so many years though, so doesn't feel bad in relative terms

5 year old - has done various fairly expensive activities. Did ballet for 3-4 months. Right now doing gymnastics and piano once a week. I don't know the exact cost but over $100/month each. She's doing soccer which is something like $150 for the spring season. She does swim once a week too which is over $100/month.

9 year old - swim 2 nights a week at an expensive swim school which is about $200/month, although cheaper during the summer because he does swim team at our neighborhood pool. Does seasonal sports which vary but we can call that $100-150/month depending on season.

11 year old - same as 9 year old but doesn't swim

I guess we can call that $1,000/month or so? Not counting any equipment/supplies needed but luckily the activities/sports they do don't require heavy investment in equipment like some do. It all comes in chunks so doesn't feel like that much but definitely adds up.

Just for comparison in a MCOL place, also 3 kids. Ice Hockey,  Travel Soccer, Rec Soccer, Rec Basketball, Local Summer Swim Club, Music Classes, ALL associated equipment -> Total 6500$ per year.  So approx 550/month.  Money well spent as far as I'm concerned, and I'm pretty damn frugal!
Definitely money well spent. I'm fairly frugal, although not as intense as a lot on this site as I want to stay married. But my kids are one area I don't mind spending.

midweststache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 673
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #46 on: March 03, 2022, 07:20:05 AM »
I have a personal rule that we don't do more than one activity per kid at a time.

That was our rule when we raised our kids. Sanity is important.

Our is SORT of similar. One activity per kid (we have a 2.5 year old who just started tumbling, which I highly recommend for all toddlers because it teaches them body control and how to fall safely), but that does not include swimming lessons ($28/lesson), which are a safety thing for us. (Both grandparents, who we spend not an insignificant amount of time with in the summer, have or have access to a pool. Also, we live by a giant-ass lake.)

For winter, both are in tumbling ($200/6 week session, each). In the spring, the youngest will stay in tumbling and the eldest will go back to soccer, which was $140 for 16 weeks (spring + fall) plus optional practices - which we don't do. Last year's summer activity for the eldest was 8 weeks of tee-ball ($150). He hasn't decided on this year's summer activity - maybe t-ball, maybe ice-skating - who knows?

Two caveats:
- we gear toward sports because both kids are HIGH FREAKING ENERGY and if I can pay someone else to wear them out I absolutely will.
- we live in a HCOL area, so prices for classes are likely higher than MCOL or LCOL areas. 

jac941

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 284
  • Location: SF Bay Area
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #47 on: March 03, 2022, 03:20:44 PM »
What's the ROI of learning how to exercise beginning at a young age?

It’s priceless. Learning to enjoy exercise of some sort is right up there with learning to enjoy learning. Both valuable life skills that will serve a person throughout their life. Both easier to develop when young.

It doesn’t have to happen through formal extracurricular activities which was the original question. But it’s definitely something I think is important. This is why I encourage my kids to do one activity or sport at a time.

Yes, it doesn't have to be learned through high priced organizations and it's definitely not lost on mustachians, the opposite in fact.  One of MMM's core recommendations is bike riding instead of driving.  Lots of families in my area bike or walk to school with their kids.  In fact, I'd argue that non-paid exercise with your child at a young age will have a much bigger return than signing them up for pricey teams organizations and clubs.

Agreed. We do both. We bike, hike and walk with our kids, and they occasionally join me for a video workout at home. But as they get older, they’re more interested in doing things with their friends than their parents. So we encourage them to try activities that we’re not interested in doing - like soccer, baseball, basketball, gymnastics, etc. They do a lot of things included in the after school program, but if they want to go a bit further we encourage them to join a rec league or pay for lessons.

Luckily neither kid is interested in a travel league. That’s too much of a time commitment for us - we won’t rearrange the whole family’s schedule over one person.

VaCPA

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 270
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #48 on: March 04, 2022, 06:54:30 AM »
There is an element they get from organized sports that isn't there from just shoving them out the door and making them play outside, or going on hikes or bike rides or whatever. Not that that isn't great too. We have 3 kids and I initially said I was going to limit it to 1 sport per kid per season, for logistics and our own sanity. But I've mostly relented on that and will let them play 2 if they really want to. As I said in the screen time thread, it really helps with keeping them off devices and engaged with the world. Great for socializing too.

charis

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3162
Re: How much do you spend on extracurriculars on your <10 year olds?
« Reply #49 on: March 04, 2022, 08:39:21 AM »
There is an element they get from organized sports that isn't there from just shoving them out the door and making them play outside, or going on hikes or bike rides or whatever. Not that that isn't great too. We have 3 kids and I initially said I was going to limit it to 1 sport per kid per season, for logistics and our own sanity. But I've mostly relented on that and will let them play 2 if they really want to. As I said in the screen time thread, it really helps with keeping them off devices and engaged with the world. Great for socializing too.

Who said anything about shoving kids out the door to play outside? My kids have been involved in organized sports for years, so I know the benefits.  Spend as much as you want, but try not to get defensive about it - this the MMM forum so it's not news to get push back on expensive travel sports.