Question

Can we discuss what yearly budgets we put in place for our kids extracurricular activities! First time mom, my daughter is 18 months and we love doing family activities. She is now old enough to start doing soccer and gymnastics in our area and find it very important for her motor and social skills rather than sitting at home. But where is your limits? This is what we currently have. ~ Zoo Membership $108 (kids free until age 3, $16 per adult at the gate so 3 visits pays for the pass. but we pay $10 for parking each visit) ~ We just signed her up for soccer. The club has a $59 annual fee. Each season (spring, summer, winter) is $225 for 12 classes. We will probably skip the summer classes since we will plan to be outdoors more ~ We also just signed up for gymnastics. I got a Groupon for $11 for 4 classes to try it out. If we like it, it runs September-June and $90 per 10 classes (each class is $10 but get a $10 discount when you prepay for 10 in-advance) ~ We are thinking about an Aquarium membership for rainy days that's $119 (admission is $30 per adult so 2 visits covers the pass and kids are free until 4 and free parking on weekends) For everything (without Summer soccer) we would be at $1136 yearly in activities. That breaks down to $95 a month. The memberships are extremely reasonably priced when you look at the door admission so I feel like we are saving a lot of money. Please share how much you spend on your family activities!  

Answer 1

My sinking fund for my kids extra curricular activities is 150 per month for 2 kids. I then budget another 150 per month for days out e. g. cinema, playcentres, zoo etc.  

Comments

@zebulen They don't, but they do a kids club on Saturday & Sunday mornings and during school holidays, and tickets are MUCH cheaper so that's when we go, it saves us so much money.  

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My kids are 7 and 4. I only started my youngest in one extra curricular activity at age 3. 5 and that was swimming. My eldest goes to 2 activities, Easter camp and summer camp, the rest are family days out.  

Answer 2

$95 a month isn’t very much in my opinion. I’m like you and I want my kids involved in a lot so they have exposure and can decide what they do and don’t want to do sports/hobby wish later. I’m putting my son in t-ball and soccer in the fall and my daughter (she will be 18 months old in The fall) as well.  

Answer 3

We have an 18 month old, but I focus more on free play dates, outings and experiences (free forest school meetups are great! ) at this point. He still gets tons of outdoor time, socializing and experiences, but we also get to up our savings and pay off our mortgage fast. But that’s what fits our family.  

Comments

@finicky2385 lol totally get it winter is rough! We have snow here so outside isn’t happening a ton. But we try to go to the library at least once or twice a week, church group, forest school meets up usually all weather you probably have one near you! My lil guy loves climbing, sports, exploring and puzzles so I try to get all of that in. We also spend a lot of time on colors, numbers, letters, crafts, reading a ton and he’s been learning German. Thankfully those things still work while it’s cold! I use to nanny so I’m pretty great and setting up free activities, play dates and park meetups to keep him busy.  

Answer 4

We're a homeschooling family. So these are our goals: Kids activities 2020: $1500 Memberships: $300 School year: $1000 Travel: $1500 We have 3 kids (10, 7 and 3. ) Each kid is in 1 activity year round minus summer.  

Answer 5

I'll also say memberships are a godsend! I never got the hype and now we love it! We don't live in a big city, so we can go have a day trip for the price of food and gas which is only like $150-200 for our family of 5 whereas w admission, it'd easily be $400 ‍♀️

Comments

@finicky2385 exactly! Plus alot of memberships come w free parking and guest passes.  

Answer 6

I’m guessing you’re on the west side. we’re in Washington and this winter has been amazing, we’re headed to the park and have spent most weekends there or out in the yard! Honestly I think if it works for your family and you can afford it that’s awesome. We don’t generally spend money on things like that because of the amount of time it takes to go or do them. It takes 35-45 minutes just to get to town so the hour and half round trip for my 18 month olds music class was just too much. I was also in my first trimester with my 2nd. I’m sure that’ll change as girls get older, but we’re in survival mode currently  

Comments

Well if it keeps you from spending money elsewhere you’re already winning! We’re in Tri Cities and I’m so happy the winter has been mild, the funny thing is my husband works for Alaska Airlines part time and we probably fly for fun more than we drive. I’ve been trying to talk him into Disney passes ‍♀️

Answer 7

While I understand the need for all your reasons, they also keep saying that kids need downtime. I think 18 months is a ridiculous age to start soccer. Maybe just some simply tot gymnastics but nothing competitive. Society as a whole puts so much pressure on parents to out their kids in all these activities when kids just need time to play and make up their own games. Free play is where kids learn the most, not in an organized activity.  

Comments

@lathing most activities for such a young age are NOT organized. It's impossible to make them competitive when they don't truly understand the fundamentals. It's a wonderful experience and I plan on doing the same with my 3rd baby. It's great when they get to be around other children and have fun and it's great exercise.  

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@narine but couldn't you invite a few baby friends to the park and hand them a soccer ball for free? If it's not organized and they don't even understand the fundamentals, what are they even doing?  

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Yes parkdates are great! I don't think anyone should care what others sign their kids up for  doesn't seem right to judge people for something YOU aren't paying for. i can say without a doubt that my 23 month old son has benefited for music class, soccer, swim and tumbling. It brings him joy and it's a priority for us to pay for these things.  

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@narine sorry, legitimately trying to figure out what an 18 mo is going to do on a soccer team. At that developmental stage children don't even play together.  I mean, I couldn't careless if people want to pay for it. But from a development standpoint I don't think a child is going to benefit more from a paid soccer class than they would from playing with friends and kicking a ball around the backyard.  

Answer 8

My daughter started dance and gymnastics at 3. Cheer at 12. She did competitions teams for gymnastics and cheer-those ran about $10k a year with travel. Not trying to scare you. i just wish I would have planned better when we started! Lol. She is now 16 and no more teams due to a severe injury. We are so great full for all the memories-good and bad and the lifelong lessons and friendships she has made. Enjoy the wild and crazy ride—-they grow up so fast!  

Answer 9

My kids just started doing sports this year. They are 9, 6, and 3. I got a YMCA membership at 32. 50 per month. That is with a 50% scholarship they offer to families that meet the income limited. Then all sports are 50% off so my oldest does skateboarding which is 20 dollars for 6-7 classes and then my youngest two are in gymnastics 22. 50 for each of them for 12 classes. No clue how much it will all cost me for the year. But it’s super cheap.  

Comments

It’s about 75 dollars per month for my kids do you sports.  

Answer 10

We do activities and lessons through the YMCA. Both our jobs help reimburse gym memberships and there's a discount on classes for members so it kind of pays for itself!  

Answer 11

If it weren't for my kid's being gymnast our budget would look a lot better, we pay $640/month for training  So at $95/month for all that, DO IT!  

Answer 12

We have a kid budget each month. I also ask for birthdays if people would like to contribute to activities for our kids. Like museum passes etc. My kids have plenty of toys so it works.  

Comments

@zebulen My mom does the kiwi boxes too. Both my 8 year old and 3 year old get them now.  

Answer 13

At this age, if you’re concerned about motor skills there are a lot of development skills you can work on at home. Try following the busy toddler IG page. Memberships are awesome. We do a zoo membership every year for $55, family of 5. I would hold off on soccer and gymnastics. They don’t really get anything from it at that age. Totally just my opinion and 2 cents. We are just starting our oldest (6) in sports. Baseball is $220/year, and random kids centers or fun community activities we spend about $30/month. Try to find free events in your area. We have a traveling “preschool” here and it’s free, twice a week, which helped them to socialize. We have three kids, 6, 3, and 2. I’m being as frugal as possible right now because as they get older, sports gets more expensive. We also live in Hawaii, where it’s ridiculously expensive, but beach and park days are free so we do that often.  

Answer 14

I grew up playing recreational and competitive sports as I got older and it was the happiest time in my childhood. My parents gave me all the opportunities in the world. Sports and social activities are about so much more than just being on a team. Teaches amazing for lessons as you get older. That being said, my children are involved in ALOT, this includes my 2 year old. If they ever wanted to stop, we would- but they love them! We spend a lot per month but I would change nothing.  

Answer 15

I suppose it depends on use. Do you visit the aquarium and zoo enough to justify this? I would be partial to picking a spring sport and a fall sport. Maybe soccer in the spring, gymnastics in the winter instead of both year round.  

Answer 16

My son is 13 months. As of right now we have a $30 (per adult) yearly membership to a local Wildlife Preserve that includes several museums, a playground, and botanical gardens and a $120 seasonal pass to the local water park that only covers my son and myself. My husband probably won’t go often due to school or work but if he chooses to go I can get him in at half price. On top of that we set aside $20 per week. That may cover a trip to an indoor playground, a movie, a local event, or the petting zoo. I’m debating signing him up for classes at Gymboree but I don’t know if once a week classes at his age level would justify the cost. My son and I get out EVERY SINGLE DAY. If we aren’t at the wildlife preserve we are walking to the park. He also gets a lot of enjoyment out of going to the mall an hour before the shops open and toddling around. As long as y’all can afford it without taking money from other places then prioritize it! Investing in your kids’ hobbies is never a waste of money as long as she’s enjoying herself.  

Answer 17

We aren't starting my LO in anything until 3 because we haven't seen anything reasonably priced below that. Everything for younger is approx. 1 million bucks. But we have a zoo membership and a friend has a children's museum. We often go together and get the other person in for free  I was thinking of gymnastics for her around 3 and then everything else will be free stuff because we don't have much disposable income right now.  

Answer 18

My kids are a bit older ( 5 and 8 ) but I have projected that from March this year to March next year it will be around $7000. 00 for sports. Hockey x2 baseball x2 swimming x2 dance x2 and gymnastics for 1 ( this is registrations. Travel. Meals. ) We don’t have any places in my small town for memberships other than the pool on the summer but we have our own in our backyard and we are not to far from a beach when we’re camping. So we don’t have memberships. We utilize the outdoors for family fun. We love to camp, hike, fish etc

Answer 19

Cub scouts $150 a year Zoo/Science museum membership $150

Answer 20

My son is 3. 5 and between daycare 3 days a week I find gymnastics 1 day a week on one of his days off for an hour, an outing on his other day off or Saturday, and kickball on Sunday it's enough. I don't like to over schedule him so he can have lots of free play. We do enough stuff to ensure we get out of the house and he hangs with other kids. We have a membership to the local children's museum and we alternate that as an outing with the local bounce place - at least in the winter. During summer its pool and playground and back yard ALL the time. We always ask and get the membership to a place for Christmas then budget the rest per season and save up for it as much as we can and cash flow what isn't saved just we never have a huge chunk of unbudgeted money to spend. With payments every season it's difficult to save all of it of a huge chunk of the yearly cost, at least for me.  

Answer 21

We just budget $100/150 a month. I don’t like subscriptions to things like this because life can be very unpredictable. I choose fun seasonal things as they arrive. This keeps costs normal and ensures we are paying for what we don’t use. For someone who would always use something like this I say go for it.  

Comments

My daughter does do gymnastics once a week for 65$ a month. This is separate from our fun money.  

Answer 22

Does your library allow you to borrow museum passes ? Maybe try that and book when your going to save money. 95 a month isn’t bad

Answer 23

We pay a lot. Well over $300/month for 2 kids sports. i have a 3rd child but shes not signed up for anything right now, so it really should be more. I budget "family fun" like zoos/aquariums separately from kids sports/activities. If I added those in it would be way more lol. For your memberships, are the zoo and aquarium close/convenient for you? How often do you really see yourself going? I know the passes pay for themselves pretty quickly so they are appealing, but I don't think most families go to zoos/aquariums more than once or twice any given year. And having the passes makes you feel obligated to go more - then you end up spending on food drinks and souvenirs. We take our kids to a few local pet stores when they want to see animals  and we will occasionally use library passes for the zoo or museums.  

Answer 24

So both my boys dance. This last 10 week term has cost me $2500 this is for 19 classes a week thou between the 2 of them.  

Answer 25

My girls both do dance which costs us around 5k a year. At 18 months though my kids won’t doing any extra curricular activities. I would do the memberships but I personally think 18 months is too young for soccer and gymnastics. I know at dance they don’t start classes till 3 and that’s just fun more then anything. For skill learning it doesn’t start till 5. But if you can afford it and want to do it no judgement here. Another option we used to do when they were young were local playgroups. They were fairly cheap I got to interact with other mums and the kids played

Answer 26

I would pause soccer until older. She can get what she would benefit from soccer from the gymnastics. I just remember my daughter at 4 playing soccer and she wasn't ready. So maybe just watch your daughter's personality and she if she is interested in the activities. I have four kiddos. All four have done soccer at some point between ages 4-6. Two have done gymnastics, the other two are going to do gymnastics hopefully this coming year but all ages that have done this would be around 6-9. All much older than 18 months. I would work on these skills at home if you really want her to be working on them, but unless she is behind just regular play at home is sufficient. I love the zoo and we have a zoo membership. I would save that $95 a month for now and wait for activities when she'll have a memory of them! Lol Right now I have a 16, 14, 8, and 6 year old, things do not get cheaper. Band is at best $700 and we started lessons so. Gahhhh.  

Answer 27

We have a season pass to a local amusement park (75 a month, family of 5- gate price is $100 each, this also covers parking and a separate water park) and both my big kids are in art class, $55 a month. My girl also does piano lessons but my aunt pays for them. In the past both big kids have tried baseball, basketball and gymnastics. We asses season by season what they want to do. No sports this year. My daughter would like to do gymnastics but it's super expensive and we can't afford it. My daughter has also done dance classes, also $55 a month, but this year choose the art class.  

Comments

My little guy (20 months) doesn't do anything yet except tag along