Most schools and local communities offer extracurricular activities for students after the standard school day is over. It is an opportunity for students to broaden their horizons, learn new skills, and build stronger connections with their peers. Chances are you’ve seen a flyer or a permission slip for everything from basketball and cheerleading to boy scouts and dance. Allowing your kids to enroll is beneficial for more reasons than you may realize.
Convenience
One of the first benefits of extracurricular activities for kids is convenience. Mom and dad don’t have to leave work early or ask someone to pick the kids up from school. Instead, the kids stay behind to enjoy their activities.
Safety
For parents who have older children that walk home from school it can be really nerve-wracking. You have several hours before you’re home and who knows what could happen during that time. At least if your children are enrolled in an after school or community program, you know that they’re safe and under adult supervision.
Improved Physical Health
Keeping kids active these days isn’t as easy as you would think. They’re so wrapped up in modern technology that they spend a great deal of time glued to a screen. An extracurricular activity, however, encourages them to be more active. Whether they’re on the basketball team or the drama club, they are getting in some much-needed exercise which ultimately improves their health.
Emotional Stability
A happy child is an emotionally stable one. Outside of the classroom, it is essential to their overall emotional wellbeing to connect with their peers and positive adults. These programs offered to children provide that atmosphere. They get a few hours to build relationships with new people with similar interests.
There’s also an increase in their confidence and self-esteem. For example, your son signs up for the local Boy Scout chapter. He gets to customize his name badge using sites like www.leeleelabels.com/boy-scouts-labels/ and wear a cool uniform. As he learns new skills and masters them, the thrill of coming home with new badges for his uniform makes him feel proud.
Better Academic Performance
Though not a traditional classroom extracurricular activities are beneficial for improving your child’s academic performance. Students are taught invaluable skills that translate into real-life and their studies like math skills, teamwork, hand-eye coordination, time management, and more. Not to mention, as they practice and get better at these skills children become more confident in themselves and their ability to succeed in and out of school. As most school programs require students to maintain a specific grade point average it also encourages students to perform their best to keep doing what they love.
Build Positive Friendships
Making friends is school isn’t as easy as it used to be. Children can often have social anxiety or insecurities that keep them isolated and bottled up. This is especially true if your children have just started a new school. By joining one of the offered programs, however, this all changes. As they learn to work together and grow as a team to accomplish goals they build positive friendships that last. They’re surrounded by like-minded individuals and can connect with each other on their common interests.
Keep Them on the Straight and Narrow
For parents of teens you know there are tons of temptations out there to persuade your teens to make poor choices. When you’re working, you can’t always be around to protect them from those dangers. However, if they’re in an after school program, they’re supervised and in a positive environment they enjoy. This motivates them to make positive choices and steer clear of temptations.
Extracurricular activities are beneficial for children of all ages. It provides a safe haven for your children to learn, explore, and grow as individuals. If you or your children are interested in finding cool activities to participate in after school, talk with the school’s main office, the public library, and city hall to find out what programs they have to offer and get them signed up.