Raising Kids:

Parenting Skills for the 21st Century

Sports & Activities

There are several reasons to get your kids involved in organized sports or other extracurricular activities. Here are just a few:

1. It makes kids become well-rounded. Most colleges and employers look for people who are well rounded, having many interests and capabilities. For some colleges, being a letter winner, especially in more than one sport, is a huge advantage. For nearly all universities, having had a leadership role in a high school club or on a sports team is a definite plus.
2. Practice builds discipline and self esteem. One of the most important lessons we can learn is that the best things in life are often the most difficult to attain. Practicing for months to master a dismount in gymnastics or a grand-master chess move for the tournament requires great discipline. The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction one feels at reaching a coveted goal builds self confidence and self esteem.
3. Competition teaches important lessons about life. In life their are winners and losers. Some kids go through much of their early life without having a serious failure. Experiencing defeat on the field or court can help them learn to accept set backs, learn from their mistakes and try harder the next time.
4. Teamwork is vital to success in life. Nearly all fields of employment today involve some aspects of teamwork. Learning at a young age what it means to be part of a team, to rely on the unique skills and contributions of each member, and that people can accomplish together what would be impossible individually is invaluable.

Two specific recommendations:

Make it mandatory. In order to insure your children take advantage of what extracurriculars have to offer, I recommend making it a requirement for them to do something besides schoolwork and free time. In our house, we never dictate what the something is, except that it must be organized and that once they start, barring any major problem, they cannot quit in mid-season. My children have been involved in soccer, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, dance, competitive cheer leading, martial arts, teaching art classes, music and choir. 

Be careful not to over schedule. One problem some familes get into is that their kids are involved in too many activities. If you find yourself shuttling kids from one activity to the next every single day, doing homework at 10:30pm, and never eating dinner together, your kids are over scheduled. You may also find that when kids have 2, 3 or 4 activities it becomes difficult for them to do them all well. I recommend if you have that problem, that you cut back to one activity per child per season until you get a handle on things. Your kids will thank you in the long run.

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