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So Many Activities, So Little Time.May 16 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line After school activities can either provide your child with new skills or they can simply fill time. It's your choice!
I felt it necessary to attempt another advice piece after the debacle that I submitted under the heading of "How to Pick a Preschool for Your Child" was received so poorly. I absolutely stand by what I wrote in that opinion and do not feel that it was off topic (better be careful or this one will be pulled as was the other!) So, here it goes, my second advice piece… Note: This Epinion is skewed towards children under the age of 9. Since both of my sons fit into this category I did not feel that it would be appropriate to give advice to parents with children older than 9 as I would not be speaking from experience. After school activities help our children to release the everyday stresses of childhood. They aid in the development of friendships. They teach them how to win gracefully and lose with pride. They provide them an avenue to learn specialized skills that set them apart from the pack. And most importantly, I feel, put the children in healthy situations where they can let go and have fun, situations that allow children to be children. Before I go into what I feel to be the best after school activities for kids let me begin with those after school activities I believe to be the worst for kids. THE BAD Feel Good Soccer Please don't take this the wrong way. Soccer is a fabulous sport for building stamina and foot eye coordination. The problem I have with the youth soccer leagues is that they fail to keep score? Hmmmmm, playing a game and not keeping score does not do very much to teach children how to win gracefully and lose with pride. What happens the first time they lose when they finally decide to keep score? Well, instead of a bunch of 6 year olds crying you'll have a bunch of 10 year olds crying. I don't know about you, but I feel it's better to jump this hurdle as early as possible. Goals help children to concentrate. If there is nothing on the line it's really no different than kicking the ball around in the park. Feel Good T-ball and Pitching Machine Little League As far as T-ball is concerned see the above paragraph. In addition to not keeping score, the kids bat around one time per inning regardless of how well or poorly they are playing. When the kids finish with t-ball and take one step up they are now using a machine instead of kids to pitch to the batter. I find two problems with this. One, when the children finally can pitch they will be stronger but still have no experience. Being hit by a pitch thrown by an older child that does not have control is worse than being hit by the same pitch thrown by a younger child. Two, how can you learn to play baseball without a pitcher learning how to field? How can the other players learn real baseball if they don't have a pitcher as a cut off man or an aid on bunt plays? Video Games Cartoons Any after school care hours that are in place because parents are working and can not pick their children up from school at the normal time. Now I'll go into what I believe to be the best after school activities for children. THE BEST Tae Kwon Do Tae Kwon Do is sport that teaches respect, discipline, self defense, and self respect. It provides children with vital physical activity and helps them to feel good about who they are. It requires kids to use their brains as well as their bodies and when it comes to tournament time they will designate winners and losers. It is an individual sport, but the children practice together and help one another. Every child learns to aid their fellow students in the learning of form and technique. If you are of a higher belt then you will help a lower belt learn what you know. It is a healthy body and healthy mind sport. Gymnastics Gymnastics is a fantastic 1st activity for many children. It gives them balance and body control, attributes that transfer readily to any other sport they may choose to pursue. And yes, when they go to tournaments, they have winners and losers. Computer Learning Games If your child insists on playing "video games" why not put that want to good use and have them play a "game" that also teaches them? Hey, they are going to want to play anyways and this is a good middle ground that gives them what they want and what you want as a parent. Discovery Channel or Animal Planet Either one of these allows the child to have their television fix and are far better than mindless cartoons. Since children love these channels why not insist that they watch them instead of SpongeBob! Spending time with family The most important activity of all. Let them know they are loved and they will be well adjusted regardless. Obviously there are other activities that are worthy of being included on this list. I did not go into all the bad activities or all the best ones either. I wanted to speak from experience so that I could give you the most accurate information I possibly could. I hope this helps!  |
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