Brinley is at the age where she is old enough to sign up for team sports and other activities.  We’ve dabbled in dance class which she absolutely loves and she plays soccer and T-ball in the yard all the time.  Most sports and activities start up in the fall when school is back in session but registration for these things is going on NOW.   There’s no doubt that she’ll take ballet in the fall, but is that enough?  Should she also play a sport?  If so, which one?  Do I let her choose or do I sign her up for the one(s) that I think she’ll like and do well at?

I don’t want to overdo it with scheduling activities for her because she’s still so young and I want her to have plenty of time to be a kid and play with her toys and enjoy the freedom of choosing what to do and when.  But I also don’t want her to miss out on anything or to be late in starting certain sports or activities when other kids may already be doing them.  I’m looking for that perfect happy medium but I’m just not sure what it is.  And it’s probably different for every kid/family and that’s what makes it so difficult to decide.

It seems I’m always hearing about parents who over schedule their children with activities.  They’re in swimming, gymnastics, dance, soccer, T-ball, piano lessons AND Girl Scouts on top of going to school.  To me that just seems like too much.  It doesn’t leave any room for spur of the moment plans during the week or time for visits to friends and family or even time to just play at home.  And can the kid really get good at all of those things at once?  I agree that it’s good to expose your kids to many different activities so that they know what is available to them, but how many of those things should they participate in at once?

Brinley will go to school three days a week in the fall.  We’ll sign her up for ballet which will be 45 minutes per week and I’ve decided to sign her up for soccer.  When I initially asked her about soccer she was very excited, but each time that I bring it up with her, she changes her mind.  I’m not going to un-register her, we’ll just see what happens in the fall.  Maybe she’ll love it, maybe she won’t.  When soccer season is over, we’ll look for another activity to replace it and maybe add something else.  I just don’t want to be a slave to my four year old’s (I can’t believe she’s almost 4!) schedule and have to be driving around everywhere all the time.  I also think it’s unfair to Nora (younger siblings) to be carted around all day to their older siblings’ activities.

What’s your take on all of this?  Is it better for the kids to do more and keep busy or just stick with two or three things and have some freedom?  What is your happy medium?  What activities has your four year old loved?

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