Extracurricular Activities: Pros and Cons
Parents of teens often struggle with how to determine what extracurricular activities their kids should join. Which activities will support their kids’ personal growth, and which will help develop their kid’s interest in different hobbies that can lead to better career choices? The short answer? There’s more than one question when it comes to extracurricular activities.
Extracurricular Activities: Pros
Extracurricular Activities Can Help Your Child to Prepare for College
Extracurricular activities are essential for students to succeed. You can understand much more about a child by what they do than by what they say. In school, children are learning the subjects they are taught-the text, the history, the science, the math. However, extracurricular activities give kids the chance to discover topics that interest them. By immersing themselves in these areas, students gain a different type of knowledge that cannot be taught in school. For example, a student fascinated by scuba diving might get PADI certifications (or similar ones), allowing them to explore the depths of the ocean and understand marine life firsthand. This could open up opportunities for a future career in marine biology, underwater archaeology, or even as a scuba diving instructor. Similarly, a student engaged in a robotics club could develop a passion for engineering and technology, gaining hands-on experience in building and programming robots. This practical knowledge goes beyond traditional classroom learning and may inspire a future in robotics engineering, artificial intelligence, or mechatronics.
Extracurricular Activities Are Valuable for Social Development
Children live in a world of their own, where they have their own set of friends, tastes, activities, and even languages. While kids grow up in a very protected bubble and are typically protected from the real world’s dangers, they must learn and interact with society as much as possible. Extracurricular activities are a great way to do that.
Extracurricular Activities Can Help Your Child to Learn Better
Your kids may be excited to be signing up for the cheerleading squad, the chess club, or the debate team, but if you’re feeling a little down, don’t get stressed. Just because your child is excelling in competition and activity clubs doesn’t mean they’re not being challenged academically. In fact, there are many surprising benefits to extracurricular activities-and some may surprise you.
Extracurricular Activities Can Help Your Child to Become More Self-Confident
Extracurricular activities are increasingly being touted as a way to enrich student experiences and help students prepare for college and their careers. But not all extracurricular activities are created equal. Learning to select the ones your child enjoys and that complement their academic path can help guarantee that they are ready for the next stage in their education.
Extracurricular Activities: Cons
Extracurricular Activities Can Interfere with Regular School Work
As a teacher or parent, you know the problems that extracurricular activities can cause. Extracurriculars will inevitably take away from class time, whether it’s an all-day trip to Mexico or a field trip to the art museum. And if you’re a student, extracurricular activities aren’t inherently bad; they’re an important part of a well-rounded education. But, if you’re planning ahead for college, extracurricular activities should be weighed carefully before you decide to participate in them.
Extracurricular Activities Might Take Up Too Much Time for Your Child to Make New Friends
Most parents want the best for their children. But occasionally, a child can become overwhelmed with school work, extracurricular activities, homework, family obligations, and so forth. As parents, you set limits on how much time your child can spend on certain activities, and if they’re busy or tired, beyond those limits, they should seek appropriate help and carve out some extra free time for themselves. Unfortunately, that limited free time can become an extracurricular activity, and that can result in your child missing out on good friends and social life.
Extracurricular Activities Might Involve Too Much Travel
The search for the best extracurricular activities for children is becoming increasingly difficult for parents. There are so many out there vying for your child’s limited attention and time. Children need downtime and fun activities; otherwise, the kids can become very unhappy. But there may be several extracurricular activities that be better off avoiding.
Extracurricular Activities Can Drain Your Child’s Energy and Repel Him/Her From Regular School
Extracurricular activities can be great, but they shouldn’t be the only way your child gets exercise. Kids need exercise, but they need to play, too. Find some activities that your child will enjoy, such as skateboarding, soccer, or swimming, and encourage them to do them every day. Also, make sure your child gets enough sleep since sleep will help their body to recover from everyday activities. Finally, make sure your child eats the right kinds of foods. Your child’s diet should include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
Deciding which extracurricular activities your child should participate in can be a daunting and overwhelming task. As parents, we want to give our children every opportunity to succeed. Having a list of extracurricular activities to choose from can be overwhelming, but it’s important to narrow down your options, so your child develops a love for learning. Extracurricular activities are something that many kids struggle with. Adults struggle with them, too, sometimes, but to kids, they may always seem harder. Kids who do extracurricular activities are often told that if they participate in too many activities, they won’t have time to focus on academics. But as a parent, you must support your kids through such decisions, be it participating in an activity of their choice or leaving it behind because they lost interest or are having a hard time keeping up with the pressure.