They also keep children safe and protect them from risky and negative behavior. They’re the perfect solution to supervised fun and time away from technology while parents are at work.
After school activities require parental coordination and resources to be successful. However, the benefits outweigh the costs.
Opportunity to Explore New Interests
After school programs provide options kids don’t have inside a school building during normal school hours. Whether a child is interested in chess, bowling, piano, or cheerleading, there’s an after school program to accommodate. Kids gain confidence as they learn new skills and interact with others from varying backgrounds, which carries over into academia.
Exercise
Lack of exercise is a contributing factor to childhood obesity, which continues to climb at alarming rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 30 years. We can help stop this cycle through after school programs. When our kids develop a routine that includes exercise, it benefits them the rest of their lives. After school programs offer a fun and entertaining environment for all kinds of exercise and encourages healthy habits in the process.
Improved Social Skills
Children left alone after school neglect face-to-face relationships and often spend too much time with technology. Interaction with caring adults and older teens who volunteer at after school programs offers time to mingle with others, improving social skills in the process. Leisurely time in a casual setting opens the door for adults to influence good choices and positive behavior in a non-threatening environment. It teaches healthy relational skills as kids watch adults model them.
Better Achievement with Challenging Subjects
When a child is struggling in math, a foreign language, or another arduous subject, after school tutoring provides the answer for success. When our daughter’s achievement in an upper level math class plummeted in high school, we began tutoring with a patient instructor. Meeting twice a week after school provided encouragement and better understanding for the subject and gave our daughter confidence for the weekly tests that had intimidated her. We located her tutor through the recommendation from another student, but tutors can also be found through the school, the local newspaper, or even social media.
Time Management Techniques
Learning to prioritize activities and manage time accordingly is a great skill for every child to obtain. When kids participate in after school programs, they’re forced to learn how to manage their activities and allow adequate time for homework. Balancing extracurricular demands with everyday school requirements teaches discipline and self-restraint that carries over into adulthood.
Camaraderie and Leadership Skills
After school programs help kids feel they belong, which improves self-confidence and self-esteem. When we re-located to a new state, our elementary-aged son found friends with similar sports interests which helped him adjust to a new town and enjoy camaraderie with others. As kids move through junior high and high school, they can gain leadership skills through after school groups such as student council, the school yearbook staff, future business leaders, or speech and debate clubs, to name a few.
If given the opportunity to help choose after school programs, kids are more vested in the activities. Experimenting with a variety of options to find a good fit and continuing to seek out new opportunities as children mature allows for greater success. Although the coordination of after school programs requires intentional effort, the encompassing benefits reach beyond the endeavors.
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Gayla Grace writes, speaks, and coaches on parenting and stepfamily issues. As a mom to five, she loves to find after school activities her children enjoy.
