If you want to discover your kid’s passion, you have to try activities to see what sticks.
“I’m bored,” my 11-year-old daughter grumbles as she collapses onto the couch. It was a rare unscheduled moment in her life. I cringe as I know what can occur when she has a spontaneous second. At the age of 3, I assumed she was quietly playing with her toys only to discover the entire wall was covered with a new crayon-drawn mural. We are both happier now that she is enrolled in art classes.
My girl prefers being busy which is why she partook in six different extracurricular activities this past spring. Her interests ranged from sign language class to swim team. Besides avoiding boredom (and messes!), there are many benefits to having scheduled activities for kids. The National Center for Educational Statistics agrees. Research says that kids who participate in after-school activities have better attendance, higher achievement and aspirations of college.
Better Academic Performance
Better Academic PerformanceEven though my daughter was in six different clubs or sports, she received all A’s in her academic classes. By participating in extracurricular activities, a kid is able to learn new skills which can be applied to the school setting. For example, a kid in a garden club can use the information learned about plants in science class. Sports such as basketball, baseball and football use statistics, addition/subtraction, probability and geometry which can be applied to math class.
A number of research studies find that kids who participate in extracurricular activities perform better in school. Author Douglas Reeves studied high school data and found students who were in three or four extracurricular activities during the year had dramatically better grades than those who participated in no extra-curricular activities. Additionally, a study done by the College Board found high school extracurricular participation is correlated with higher SAT scores, SAT math by 45 points and SAT verbal scores by 53 points.
More Adaptable
If a child is participating in more than one activity, they will also experience more than one coach or teacher who will have different rules and expectations. They will have the opportunity to meet kids with a range of personalities and interests. These interactions will teach a child how to be adaptable to multiple people and situations.
Maddi and Deborah Khoshaba’s training guide, Resilience at Work, discusses the importance of being adaptable and how when adaptable people lose their jobs they thrive due to their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Being adaptable is a skill which can be beneficial both in the school or work setting.
Better Social Skills
Children will gain social skills both from the person in charge of the activity or sport and by interacting with their peers. They also have the opportunity to learn about team work by either playing a sport together or doing a group class such as a musical or play.
In my daughter’s book club, at the end of their discussion of the book, they have social time. During one meeting she didn’t read the book, but she still wanted to go to the club since she loved the social interaction with her peers.
Less Screen Time
Common Sense Media research shows that on average, teens spend more than nine hours per day playing video games or watching TV. If children are participating in after school activities they will have less opportunity to either watch TV or play video games and they will hopefully learn new skills. There will always be down time for gaming and such.
Decreased Risk of Obesity
According to the Centers for Disease Control, obesity affected about 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade.
If a child participates in a sport they will be more active which leads to better health benefits from being physically fit. Even if a child did a club or an after-school activity they will be more active than if they are sitting with a game controller.
How to Balance Your Schedule
Sometimes, even for my daughter, you can have too many activities. I’m always cognizant of her energy level. If she needs to skip an activity once in a while, I let her. When I noticed she wasn’t enthusiastic about going to gymnastics anymore, we both decided it would be best not to sign up for the next session.
