With the internet at our disposal, we had reinvented almost everything in our lives including parenting. Shaped by modernity and experience, new generation parents are upgrading the traditional child-rearing practices to a modern one (read more). Before, parenting is not such a fuss. You only need to provide the child’s basic needs and everything just seems to go in place over time. Well, not anymore.
Parents are now becoming present and invested in their children’s lives. They provide them with the best of the best—after watching hundreds of online blog reviews. They buy organic baby food in sustainable packages, bottles undergo UV sterilization, and baby swaddles are wrapped around their tiny ones at night.
As these children grow up, they are more exposed to technology (there’s good and a not so good) and to the unconventional family structures like single parenting and LGBTQ parents. Also, family time is given much more relevance.
Unlike before, parents are now encouraging kids to talk about their feelings and how to express emotions. Instead of the good old spanking, parents are using the power of words to teach kids life-long lessons. Another trend in modern parenting is encouraging kids to enroll in summer camps and classes.
Summer is a great time to pry children away from school pressure or the screens of their IPad. Every summer, hundreds of parents send their kids to summer camps, day activities, and sports classes. They enroll them in kids soccer classes, baking programs, swimming lessons, and a bunch of other activities.
Here are 6 kiddie benefits of joining extracurricular activities during the summer (or any time of the year).
1. Discovery of talent and interest
Different kids require different kinds of teaching methods. There is no one-size-fits-all in terms of education. Unfortunately, most educational systems only focus on the academe i.e. memorization, word knowledge, and problem-solving. Sometimes, the four walls of a classroom are not enough to bring out the creativity and artistry of kids.
Enrolling them in different kinds of classes or camps allows them to explore and discover their interests in an environment where there is no pressure. Kids will be more comfortable in trying out new things in a less restrictive setting, away from adult expectations and rules.
Human talent and ability have a diverse set of categories. It is not only the typical singing and dancing type that we are aware of. It also includes self-management, personal resilience, and leadership.
2. Acquire lifelong skills
Camps and classes consist of several kinds of activities. In sports, a child learns how to work, function, and communicate within a team. There are outdoor activities like mazes and obstacles where a child’s decision-making and leadership skills are honed. There are also activities like cooking, poem writing, and theater acting.
These various recreations encourage kids to learn and develop skills that they can use in the real world. Learning, when incorporated with fun, is a great way to instill life lessons into their young minds.
3. Social interaction
As children learn how to work in teams and value individual differences, they are also building new friendships that can last a lifetime.
Camps and summer classes are filled with new people that are unlabeled and uncategorized by social and school standards. Kids can meet like-minded peers and develop a sense of camaraderie from there. Meeting new people and widening their circle of friends is also a good way to enhance their social and communication skills.
4. Personal development
Recreational activities not only improve a child’s physical health. It also enhances their mental, social, and psychological well-being.
It stimulates their sense of independence, especially during overnight camps. It stimulates their minds to decide on their own, manages their time, and take responsibility.
Taking summer classes also helps them build their confidence and self-esteem (https://www.businessinsider.com/psychologist-explains-how-to-raise-a-more-confident-child-2016-11). They are taught to put in the effort and hard work to achieve an important task. May it be in fishing, painting, or soccer, achieving something is an ingredient to build-up competence and confidence.
It also teaches them the art of accepting failure and disappointments. They will learn that winning is not the goal. What’s important is that you went out there and kept trying. After all, the journey is more important than the destination itself.
5. Nurtures personal growth
Being able to be creative and express yourself in an environment that is free of judgment has a huge impact on a child’s life. It may not be evident now but as they grow older, they will eventually develop a greater sense of purpose. It will become essential when they mature and enter the real world.
The nurturing environment that summer camps and classes provide allows a person to grow in a healthy way. Through this, there will be a great inclination to become a better human being while making a positive impact on society.
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