Kids often have tons of energy to spare, and it’s important for parents to help them channel their energy in healthy ways. Instead of having them chasing their brothers and sisters around the house for hours after school, consider enrolling them in extracurricular activities that benefit both their physical and mental development.
When deciding on extracurricular activities for your child, focus on his or her strengths and the things he or she most enjoys. You may even wish to involve your child in the decision-making process. Reassure him or her that if it’s not a good fit, you’ll work together to find something that is. Experts recommend at least one extracurricular activity for children per week. If your child enjoys it, consider adding additional extracurricular classes after school or on weekends. Just make sure that your child is not over-scheduled—even in young children, this can lead to burnout. Ensure that you still have time for family dinners each week and that your child has free time to run around in the backyard on weekends or do something entirely unstructured.
Try to start with extracurricular activities that may not be available at your child’s school. This way, you’ll broaden your child’s interests and skill set. To begin, why not try these activities that will help your little one be happy and healthy?
1. Martial Arts
Practicing martial arts is known to help build character, self-confidence, fitness, and respect. According to Livestrong.com, the sport teaches self-discipline and can help your child learn how to focus on one particular task, something that is especially important in today’s world of multitasking and smartphones. Your child will also learn how to overcome obstacles to reach a goal, and martial arts can help kids become more resilient in the face of setbacks in all areas of life. The sport teaches self-defense skills in a non-threatening manner, and your child will be able to employ these methods if he or she should ever be in a dangerous situation. Since most martial arts classes are taught in large groups, kids will be able to practice their social skills and make new friends. They’ll also build teamwork skills as they work together with other students to accomplish their goal. Many martial arts classes have exams that participants take to get to a higher level of the sport, so this extracurricular activity can help them learn to prepare well for other exams and teach them to manage any test anxiety that they may have at school. Crucially, lots of martial arts programs also double as after-school programs and provide time for students to complete their homework. To build your child’s enthusiasm for martial arts, consider taking an adult class so that you can learn the sport and practice it together. Your child may also enjoy watching advanced martial artists perform on video or in live demonstrations.
