My kids have to do something physical, the rest is up to them.

I see so many families where the boys do 3 activities each which involves multiple training and the girls only get a token activity like aerobics one night a week - not that there is anything wrong with aerobics but its noticeable the difference how little some parents put into sports for girls. Then they say oh but the girls arent as good as boys at sports. Well no kidding, you made it that way.

Its up to the parents their finances and the child. I do not believe forcing a child to do an activity they dont want to do so parents look or feel good to their friends.

As long as you did not got without basic essentials you were not neglected if you did not do extra curricular activities as a child. Did you always have food,clean cloths and a roof over your head? If no that’s neglect

Yes absolutely extracurricular activities are an essential part of a child’s development and whilst I agree focus on what your child is interested in sometimes they can be scared to try new things so don’t be afraid to give them a little push. Having said find a group of mums and put your kids in together I assure you if their friends are doing it they will want to do it too. For things they are not keen or don’t enjoy one season is enough but our rule is once I have paid you are doing it. The kids have tried, afl, soccer, basketball/netball nippers, futsal, sailing, art classes, lacrosse and swimming, guitar and singing.

My son has stuck with soccer and guitar and my daughter netball and singing. Sure we did a lot especially in primary school but it was fun trying things and great experience. My daughter did her life saving certificate and a hospitality course.

They might never go on and be Olympians but it’s not about that they can look back and say I had a go and liked it or I hated it and they know what it’s about.

Don’t worry about your past - I was neglected, don’t let it dictate how you are a person now.

Depends on the child, and the age. My 7 & 9yo play netball and basketball which is usually 1 night training and 1 day game each, so 4 days of the week. They enjoy it, its exercise and its not enough to interfere with their school work. Its also a form of OT for them as they have weak wrists and it was the OT suggestion they play ball sports to help improve their hand writing. Some other kids may find that too much sport, and some may do more.

My kids all did swimming from 6 months until they reached the life saving level. One did netball but quit in year 7 and did nothing else. One did acrobatics then switched to gymnastics, injured herself and so quit in year 7 and is not interested in anything else. My boy did footy then soccer, then golf and now basketball but is about to quit coz it will be too hard in year 12. I think it’s important to keep them active but they shouldn’t be forced into a sport. They need time for school, family and just to relax. My older girl jogs on the treadmill and I make my younger girl come with me when I walk the dog just to get a bit of exercise in.

My boy is 7 and has done swimming since he was 6 months old, this is a non negotiable as we believe swimming is an important life skill. This is 2 lessons a week.
Since 4 years old he has played footy in the winter and TBall in the summer. This is generally 2 footy trainings and a game and for TBall 1 training and a game.
He no longer does TBall but has moved into oztag.
Oztag I 1 training and a game

My daughter is 5. She does gymnastics, swimming, circus and tennis.

Previously she had music and another gymnastics session but she got tired so we canned it.

I would like her to cut another one but she loves it too much. We are lucky we can afford it and it works well... teacher picks her up from class and they do it.

For me she can quit anything except swimming. We have a pool so it's a must for us.

My boys do martial arts. Pre coronavirus they were doing 3-4 nights a week, 2 hours at a time. Sadly our small gym didn’t survive the shutdown. Now they are at a new gym 2 nights a week, 1 hour at a time plus 1 hour on Saturday. My youngest also is in the band at school, practice was one early day a week. Thanks to the new COVID guidelines in NSW band is now on hold.

My kids are 2 and 4, and when a bit older I'll be happy for them to do 1-2 activities at a time (like a sport and music lessons).

Right now I have one doing dance and two doing football. My daughter does dance as an extracurricular through school which doesn’t require much more than an early morning and eventually maybe some weekends. My sons do football with 2 nights training and one game each a week. I also have one who does music through school, again just one early morning a week. I don’t want to overload them with extras but also feel that it’s important they have a passion, so if that were to change for any of them I would change their extracurriculars. I am also thinking of looking into art classes for my daughter as she enjoys it and we now have enough money to add that in.

As a baseline, our kids do a seasonal sport each. So footy each winter for both, cricket each summer too. If each child wants an additional activity that's okay, but its a stretch after that - they'll be too tired plus we need to have a family life.