Extracurricular Activities and Your Kid

ENRICHMENT?

Most parents want their kids to get involved in extracurricular activities. Sports, art classes, volunteering and a whole range of other kinds of pursuits are important in the development of kids. But why? Engaging in extracurricular activities gives kids an organized social setting where they can develop their social skills.

Your kid might not want to do the extracurricular activities you want them to do. If that’s the case, the first step is to find out why. There may be an important reason ranging from social or performance anxiety to social issues, incompatibility with coaches, etc.

CONNECTION OPPORTUNITY

So what’s the answer to “should you make your kid do extracurricular activities?” The answer is this? you should tell them “fine, you don’t have to do (fill in the blank) but you do have to do something.” Finding something that he/she can enjoy is important and guess what? That activity might even be something he or she can do with you!

There’s more to say, and we get into it in this Tips on Teens:

“Last year my 12 year old daughter was on a track team and it seemed like she really enjoyed it. I was really happy that she found something to do that she liked. This year she’s saying she doesn’t want to do it. I really want her to have something extracurricular going on, preferably involving exercise. Is it a good idea to ‘force’ your kid to play sports to keep them occupied?”