The Natiosn Most Popular Children's Hobbies

Does your little one dream of becoming the next singing superstar, Olympic hero or even famous Hollywood actor? Hobbies taken up during childhood often ignite passions and may even influence their career choices as an adult. But in our busy modern day lives it’s often difficult to prioritise which and how many hobbies your children should take up.

All families are different and so are their budgets and time restraints, meaning there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing hobbies for your children. However, it can often be helpful to get an understanding of the initial start up costs associated to various hobbies, which is where we come in!

Through a survey of 1,500 parents we’ve discovered the UK’s most popular hobbies and analysed start-up, and uniform costs, membership and other fees – we’ve basically done the hard work for you!

Sort by popularity, annual cost, average session time and uniform cost, before clicking on each hobby to find out more information. And if your child is considering more than one of the below hobbies, select each one for a total annual cost summary.

Sort by
popularity
annual cost
av session time
uniform cost
Select
Choose a hobby to learn more
Av. annual cost
Swimming
£290

The number one hobby on our list, proper swimming lessons can be a lifesaver – quite literally! They also help to improve cardiovascular fitness, and combat issues like obesity and other health problems. As with most forms of physical exercise, swimming is also great for psychological wellbeing.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £6.50
  • Av. annual cost
  • £290
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,450
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £23.85
Football
£215

Team sports like football help teach kids how to work well with others. More importantly, however, they also instil great values like fair play, helping children learn to cope with losing, and improve upon their mistakes. Besides, who doesn’t love standing in a muddy field at 7AM on a cold Saturday morning?

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 90
  • Av. cost per session
  • £3
  • Av. annual cost
  • £215
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,075
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £77
Gymnastics
£276

As well as being a great way to build core strength, gymnastics proves that “practice makes perfect” and teaches children the value of diligence and hard work – even if they don’t succeed the first time around. Successful gymnasts can go on to rise through the ranks, and even perform in regional, national and international competitions!

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £6.75
  • Av. annual cost
  • £276
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,379.47
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £25
Trampolining
£425

With few uniform requirements and low joining fees, it’s little surprise that trampolining has become so popular. Regular lessons can help to improve strength and cardiovascular fitness, whilst also teaching balance and coordination. Successful athletes can also go on to represent their schools and clubs across the country.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £14
  • Av. annual cost
  • £425
  • Av. five year cost
  • £2,125
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £7
Singing
£2,020

Singing on stage can help improve self-confidence, teaching children to take pride in their talents. Memorising (and even writing) new songs can also help develop to brain function, encouraging concentration and creativity. Though it may the most expensive hobby on the list, Taylor Swift is reportedly worth $320 million dollars… we’ll leave you to decide!

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £40.50
  • Av. annual cost
  • £2,020
  • Av. five year cost
  • £10,100
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £0
Street dance
£195

Undoubtedly spurred on by the rise of music videos and talent shows, street dance proved to be the most popular style of dance on our list. Classes are usually very varied, offering a taste of styles from around the world, and also blending in some more traditional elements. Uniform costs are typically low – just grab some comfy clothes and you’re ready!

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £5
  • Av. annual cost
  • £195
  • Av. five year cost
  • £975
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £11
Athletics
£151

Athletics clubs usually offer a selection of activities ranging from javelin throwing to 100m sprints, meaning they’re fantastic all-round fitness builders. Like football, they also teach children the importance of winning and losing graciously, working with others and generally being a good team player.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 90
  • Av. cost per session
  • £2.75
  • Av. annual cost
  • £151
  • Av. five year cost
  • £755
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £35.50
Martial Arts
£282

No matter which martial art your child tries out, each discipline teaches the value of self-control, hard work and practice. The regular physical activity can also help relieve stress, improve mood and develop overall concentration. The regular progression system and rewards (such as earning new belts) can also instil confidence and a sense of achievement for hard work.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £5.25
  • Av. annual cost
  • £282
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,411
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £46
Drama
£354

By encouraging children to perform in front of others, drama classes don’t just help inspire self-confidence. In fact, acting lessons can help improve verbal communicative skills, widen a child’s vocabulary and develop their memory. Though lessons can be expensive, the low start up fees mean that drama is a great hobby to test out.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 120
  • Av. cost per session
  • £9
  • Av. annual cost
  • £354
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,770
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £0
Ballet
£309

Ballet’s place on our list proves that some hobbies never go out of fashion. Including elements of both dance and gymnastics, lessons help teach children the virtues of focus, hard-work and perseverance. As with other performing arts, talented ballet dancers can go on to perform in local or national competitions, and even pursue a long-term career in the field.

  • Av. session time (mins)
  • 60
  • Av. cost per session
  • £7
  • Av. annual cost
  • £309
  • Av. five year cost
  • £1,543
  • Av. uniform cost
  • £37
Total annual cost
0

Purse Friendly Hobbies

Are you looking for an active hobby, to occupy your little ball of energy? Athletics may be the hobby for them. Coming in as the least expensive hobby, one session a week will cost you just £2.75 on average, totalling an affordable £151 annually.

Street Dancing also came in as a budget friendly £195 annually, working out as just £5 a week. Most schools encourage a no uniform policy to encourage invidiuality, meaning uniform costs are kept low, with parents only needing to purchase basics such as a t-shirt and jogging bottoms.

Ranked second most popular, football also comes in at just £215 annually, with an average cost per session of just £3. However it’s worth noting the associated uniform costs were the most expensive, with parents often paying out for kit, boots, plus accessories such as shin pads and socks.

Penny Pinching Hobbies

Perhaps unsurprisingly singing lessons are in-fact the most expensive hobby, although voted fifth most popular. Each one on one session costs on average £40, meaning just one lesson a week could cost over £2,000 a year. However there are plenty of budget alternatives including school choirs, if your little one loves nothing more than belting out their favourite songs on the radio.

Trampolining and drama also ranked highly, with weekly trampolining lessons on average costing £425 annually and drama classes, £354. Similarly to street dancing, both hobbies have minimal uniform costs.

Hobbies on the Decline

As well as the UK’s most popular, we also discovered which hobbies have perhaps fallen out of favour with the nation.

Sadly none of the six levels of guides and scouts made the top 15, with less than a quarter (21%) of the parents surveyed selecting them as a hobby their child partakes in.

Perhaps due to the associated costs or the fact music lessons are part of the national curriculum, learning a musical instrument also appeared low on our list, with only 16% of children choosing to further their learning outside of school.

And the most suprising of all? One in ten children referenced in the survey don’t participate in any hobbies at all.

Dr Amanda Gummer

Founder of Fundamentally Children

Our Expert Says

“Out of school activities can promote well-rounded development - they give children a chance to engage with and succeed at non-academic activities. Having the chance to learn a new skill or show off a hidden talent outside of the academic environment can be great for their self-esteem. Clubs also give children the opportunity to socialise with a different group of peers, make new friends, and really feel a part of something. In fact, after-school clubs - particularly physical activities - have been linked with multiple benefits including better prosocial skills, improved wellbeing, fewer behavioural problems and even higher academic achievement in Key Stage 2 (Nuffield Foundation, 2016).

When choosing clubs for children it’s important to check that they’re well-run and age appropriate - you don’t want it to become a chore - the Children’s Activities Association is a great place to start to find good activity providers.”

Thinking of enrolling your children in a new hobby? Make sure they’re well-equipped for everything a new sport throws at them with our range of kids’ activewear.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.