Sports, Hobbies & Activities

How our Lives Have Changed

Gone are the days when our kids can play outside in the streets, in and out of neighbour’s houses. In this day and age, children’s activities (outside the home) are much more structured and monitored, with parents (or carers) tending to be more involved. Some children have regular outings, others have regular classes and some kids seem to have endless playdates. I know, for example, that my friend’s 3 year old has a busier social diary than I do.

In our house, for a long time virtually every weekend was taken up with an outing to an animal park or sanctuary. Incredibly, my husband once remarked that ‘our lives haven’t really changed much since we had children’. To say I did a double-take was an understatement. ‘Are you saying we spent every weekend walking around the zoo, staring at monkeys, before we had kids?’

Animal Magic

Our first son was (and is) animal crackers. He could spend hours in the garden observing ants, digging up worms, watching birds and catching bees in old jam jars. When asked, he would tell people his dream job was to be an animal ‘feeder’. If it was raining outside.. no problem. He would while away the hours leafing through animal encyclopedias or watching animal documentaries.

No surprise then, that we are well-known on the zoo circuit. Hand on heart, no zoo, safari park or petting farm within an hour’s drive has gone unvisited. Indeed, we have annual passes to every animal centre within a 20-mile radius of our house. We even befriended a local family just because they had a dog, so that we could take him for walks.

Children and Pets

After years of trying to extol the virtues of stick insects and fish, we finally gave in and got a hamster. My son was so obsessed with handling him that the poor little critter started to hide in the back of the cage, bearing his teeth and hissing when anyone went near. One week later, we took the hamster back. The manager protested and my husband protested even more. And it is because of our family that that particular pet shop now has signs up saying ‘no animals returned under any circumstances’.

After much discussion and research, we decided to get a cat. Something my son could cuddle and love, who would greet his return from school each day. Of course, he really wanted a dog but everybody knows a dog is a responsibility for life, not just for Christmas. A cat was quite simply as far as we were prepared to go. And before too long, we had found a breeder with a litter.

We’d gone for an apparently fun-loving, affectionate breed that was known to be great with kids. These cats also had short coats requiring minimal upkeep – perfect. But after a gruelling 3 hour car journey, we discovered that adorable pedigree kittens don’t always want to play and that pedigree cat-breeders don’t necessarily like kids. Our son was devastated and we were back to the drawing bed again.

So, after much back and forth discussions, to-ing and fro-ing arguments, we finally made a decision and decided to get a dog of our own. And in April, a little furry bundle arrived. The zoo travels are now less frequent. After years of dirty nappies, we now spend our weekends walking the dog and picking up his poo instead. But the truth is, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Our dog is a wonderful addition to our house. The children adore him and so do we.

Help at Hand!

Travelling home in a cab recently, I got talking to the driver about his three boys. He was at great lengths to explain that boys need a lot of exercise (no kidding) and that with so many different activities on offer at local leisure centres, there was no excuse for boys to run feral when there were so many options to burn off steam elsewhere.

‘You just had to seek them out,’ he told me.

In this section, we have sought them out for you. You will find what to do and where to go with your children, even on a rainy day. You will find ideas for museums, clubs and classes, including: cookery, creative drawing, arts and crafts, football, gymnastics, swimming, dance and running.

We’ll look at the benefits of structured martial arts classes, that teach discipline along with self-defence, plus old-fashion scout groups that give kids a chance to explore nature and learn life skills. We’ll also look at the benefits of Yoga for Kids, that promote relaxation and mobility, plus drama classes that help children find their voice and their confidence. And finally, we’ll look at fun kids classes that you may not have heard of, like Mad Science, and classes for new mums and babies, like Pushy Mothers, which you may have heard of! (Please note, Parenting and First Aid classes are referred to in the How to be a Better Parent section.)