by S D Rios

Created on: May 10, 2010   Last Updated: May 11, 2010

To engage in extracurricular activities or not, that's the inevitable question that every child and parent will encounter early in a child's life. Believe it or not, the pressure (and the guilt if you say no) starts at birth with choices like baby sign language, infant story time, infant massage, mom and me music, and the list goes on. And this is before your baby is actually even walking!

Once movement starts, so start the sports. Soccer starts at three or four along with t-ball and a host of other sports. If you wait a season or two, you feel like you're "behind" when you child begins at the ripe old age of 5 or 6. 

Then there are piano lessons to work both sides of the brain, art enrichment to promote creativity, hands-on science programs to inspire the future scientist, and so on. Let's just say that the choices are quite literally endless.

You may think I'm against extracurriculars and the overabundance of choices that face us as parents of these young prodigies. On the contrary, in moderation, extracurriculars provide an opportunity for fun, friendships, and learning as well as free play.

Anyone who has every been to a sports practice knows that before and after, the free play begins in an effort to drag the evening out even longer! As much as we parents would like to be able to say, "Go out and play", like our parents did when we were little, the truth of the matter is that even if they go out and try to play, it is often hard to find someone else to play with.

Thank goodness for siblings, some days! Parents work, kids are in after-school care programs, others have practices and lessons, and some parents just don't let their kids out for the same kind of free play that we had as kids.

I suggest, both as a parent and teacher, that kids play a sport that they seem to enjoy and are reasonably good at. This is a healthy habit that could last a lifetime. It builds self-confidence, teaches good sportsmanship, and fosters cooperation and teamwork.

And besides, as we compete with the draw of video games, too many kids never take up a sport or learn to enjoy physical activity. I also suggest that kids try scouting, music, or other non-athletic activities to give them a chance to make friendships in other circles and get a taste of areas of interest that might be "their thing". 

In the end, it's about finding "their thing". Is there a sport, class, group, or activity that seems to enthrall them and that they go to willingly most days? Is there something that they are naturally good at and may have a special talent in this area?

Parents, when school starts, you will realize just how little time is left in the school day for hands-on experiments, creative projects, silly plays, and all of those things that made school more than worksheets. Depending on your school district, you may only have art and music once every week or two and physical education class may or may not be a daily occurrence in many schools.  

The pressure to test well drives the school day. After-school extracurricular activities offer some unique learning opportunities that, within moderation, can enrich your child's life. All things in moderation - that's the key!

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