I felt compelled to write this blog today, as I sit here watching my four year old daughter take a gymnastics class. We recently moved to a new state, and all she keeps asking for is to get into another gymnastics program. I’ve never seen her more focused, and enjoy her time quite like when she is rolling around on the floor with other little kids. It gives me joy knowing that I’m able to provide this for her, even though I’m not directly interacting with her at this particular moment.

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For the past few weeks, we’ve been so focused on saving money; adjusting our budget, penny pinching, and paying off debt. Because of that, our focus hasn’t really been toward our main priority; our kids! With a new home comes new friends to make, so until that happens, they don’t have much.

Socialization is super important for kids of all ages, whether it be from school, or a program such as gymnastics (by the way, Amazon has some ADORABLE gymnastics leotards), football, dance, or even an arts and crafts class. They need to be around other children so they can learn how to communicate properly and keep their brains functioning (and not by sitting in front of a screen!).

If you have the room in your budget, its okay to give a chunk of that to your kids. Don’t take their own money for the class or sport. Allow them the opportunity to grow as individuals. Also, don’t talk to them about the cost of the class. They don’t need to know about it, and probably don’t even want to. They are only focusing on friends and activity, as they should! Listen to your kids. Give them the chance to pick what it is that they want to do. Our son Darien, for example, was in soccer, softball, and ice skating so far. You know what we found out? He doesn’t actually like sports at all! He has a big interest in computers. He told us that he wants to take a programming class. By the way, he’s 8.

I believe that kids should be allowed to choose the activities that they want to do, within reason of course. Physical activity is important, but if sports aren’t their thing, maybe they just need activity in a different form. Just getting outside for an hour playing with friends is better than forcing them into an activity they hate.

Basically, the moral of this post is that if you have the money, it’s alright to treat your kids to an activity that will benefit their personalities and health. They are worth it. They are our future after all.

Are your kids in a club or sport? I’d love to hear all about it!