When my kids hit the age of three or so, I felt the clock ticking. I needed to figure out what to sign them up to do in order to keep them busy, help them make friends, and follow the unspoken rules of parenthood looming over my head. Most of my family had played soccer, so that seemed the obvious place to start.
My husband volunteered to coach (okay, maybe I volunteered him), and I set out on my search for extra-extra small shin guards and a number three (or was it four?) ball. In the first practice my daughter refused to wear the green team shirt, instead insisting on a triple-layered hot pink tutu and a too-small purple shirt she could find at the bottom of any giveaway pile. She spent most of the practice fastening and unfastening her shin guards, which is why I missed the part when her brother wrapped himself in the goalie net.
Fast-forward a game or two later, and it was extremely obvious that my children were not interested in soccer, and my husband would be coaching a team of other people’s children while I tried to talk my kids into heading out on the field for a second or two. Fast-forward a year or two later, and it was extremely obvious that my children were not only uninterested in soccer, but they also were not interested in any type of sport whatsoever.
Finding activities they enjoyed involved thinking outside the box a little, but it paid off. They formed lasting friendships around common interests, and I never had to talk them into going to their extracurricular activities.
If you have kiddos who aren’t interested in anything involving a bat, a ball or a net, here are 50 activities they might be interested in instead.
50 Activities For Kids Who Hate Sports
- Theater
- Playing a musical instrument
- Singing
- Robotics
- Lego Club
- 4-H
- Horseback riding
- Juggling
- Tap
- Ballet
- Drawing
- Boy Scouts
- Girl Scouts
- Chess
- Science clubs
- Coding
- Cooking classes
- Knitting
- Crocheting
- Sewing
- Debate club
- Maker Faire
- Volunteering
- Gardening
- Calligraphy
- Pottery
- Whittling
- Painting
- Cartooning
- Magic
- Crafting
- Costuming
- Video editing
- Reading club
- Creative writing
- Quiz bowl
- Woodworking
- Graphic design
- Survival skill groups
- Screen-printing
- Photography
- Board game club
- Beekeeping
- Web design
- Scrapbooking
- Animal training
- Foreign language
- Puppeteering
- Geocaching
- Hairstyling/cosmetology
I’ve loved watching my kids explore new activities, and the most rewarding part has been those moments when they find what they love most. Do you have anything to add to this list? Let me know in the comments.
