Is your child’s schedule full? Do they have time to be children?
Many children today are overloaded in terms of their extracurricular activities. They have extremely busy schedules, and do not have enough time to run around and play, which is essential to promote healthy child development. It is crucial that children have the time for unstructured free play as well as family time. Play is beneficial and an extremely important part of childhood, and has many developmental benefits – such as improving parent – child interaction
In today’s times, many of our children are bombarded with choices and feel pressurised to do it all. In a recent newspaper article written by James Edgar, called “run along now dears-letting your kids be kids”, he spoke about how to avoid hectic after school activities. (Sunday times, 12 January 2014). He mentioned that some parents feel that they need to stimulate their children and ensure that the children are occupied at all times, which may actually result in stifling their children’s development. He also mentioned that if a child is constantly entertained, “it is not good preparation for the adult world”. Some parents have a tendency to be overbearing and fear boredom in their children. Other parents can force their own childhood dreams onto their children and regard their children as extensions of themselves. They forget, or do not know, that children need to play in order to develop.
Play promotes social interaction which is an essential part of a child’s development: it teaches them to socialise, it encourages effective communication skills, teaches them how to relate to people, promotes healthy child development, and strengthens the child-parent bond. Play and unstructured time is important in order to teach children independence, learn how to take risks, to experiment, explore and learn. The opportunity for free play has been reduced for many children, which results in less opportunity for parents to be involved with and engage with their children. This may be due to a more pressurised and hurried lifestyle and more attention to the child’s academic performance and enrichment activities, at the expense of free, creative or unstructured play. In the long run this can be detrimental to the child’s emotional well-being, and can result in stress and anxiety in children.
Parents may feel that they do not want their children to fall behind and compete with other parents in this regard. They may also feel that they are not acting as “proper parents”, if they do not offer their children the opportunity to participate in this pressurised lifestyle. They need to be advised to find a balance between over stimulating their children and allowing them to play and have normal social interactions. It is important to be aware of the fact that there may be benefits of certain extra mural activities, ie. promoting self-confidence if a child does well in a certain activity. Therefore the activity should be selected for the correct or appropriate reason, for example: swimming for low muscle tone. Some extra mural activities may have therapeutic value for the child. The child may also learn certain values associated with some extra mural activities such as motivation, teamwork, dedication and friendship. Children should be encouraged to try out a variety of activities in order to discover their own strengths and weaknesses.
In terms of technology, there are advantages and disadvantages for children. One major disadvantage is that it limits face to face interaction, communication and socialisation, which are essential skills in terms of the child’s development, and may affect concentration.
It is therefore important to look at the role of extra mural activities in our children’s lives, and to try not to overload the child, but rather to be aware of the value and importance of play and to try and promote a more balanced life for our children.
References:
-Edgar, J, “Run along now, dears-letting your kids be kids”, Sunday Times, January 12, 2014.
–http://www.peadiatrics.aappublications.org/content
–http://parent24.com/school
–http://www.schoolguide.zo.za/blog
Comments are closed