By 'young children' I assume we are talking about primary school children (age 4-7). Before this age they are not really in school much, so no activity can truly be termed 'extra-curricular'. Usually at this age they have all kinds of interests, most of which are fleeting to say the least, so it can be very difficult to choose an activity without the risk of wasting your hard-earned cash.

In my opinion, the best first extracurricular activity for young children is something they are
a) really interested in, and
b) have some chance of success at.

What do I mean by this?

Choose the activity very carefully according to your child's personality: is your child in constant motion? try a sport. Observe your child to discover what kind of sport will be best. Is he always kicking a ball around? Football, of course! Does he enjoy wrestling his brother? Try a martial art such as judo. Does she love water? Take her to the local swimming club, either speed or synchro. Can't sit still? Gymnastics! Always goes everywhere at full speed? Running. And so on.

A quiet, studious child may well enjoy a chess or scrabble club, a shy child may be helped by a drama workshop, where role-playing allows freedom of expression. Or this may just be too much and be a total disaster!

Creative children love to be with others like them, so find an art class.

Noisy children will probably delight in a music class, although again you need to observe your child carefully to assess which instrument to choose. If you can, borrow a variety of instruments and see if your child can get anything remotely resembling music out of each. You also need to decide if you can stand to have that instrument practised - wrong notes and all - in your home! By the way, be warned about supposedly 'quiet' instruments: my children are musical, and I was very surprised to discover that a flute can produce as much volume as a cornet!

Children who love to sing should, of course, join a choir, even if they can't hold a tune (many children of this age can't, but they do love to try!).

Above all, be supportive of your child, and don't try to push him into something you would have loved to try but never got the chance. And please remember that it may well not work out: be prepared to let it go, and try something else. Set yourself a termly budget - all these activities can be very expensive - and stick to it. Even small children can learn that money doesn't grow on trees, it won't scar them for life to have to wait for something once in a while!

Learn more about this author, Gill Jennings.
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