South African schools pride themselves on their sporting and cultural activities along with the traditions of team spirit and achievements which often occur after school and during weekends. The idea of extra-mural activity has parents in a predicament, some tend to worry about overloading their children with activities while other parents encourage dedication to it full-time. The age-old question is how much is too much? Particularly at a Primary School level, the beginning of your child's long schooling career.South African schools pride themselves on their sporting and cultural activities along with the traditions of team spirit and achievements which often occur after school and during weekends. The idea of extra-mural activity has some parents in a predicament, while other parents encourage dedication to it full-time. The age-old question is how much is too much? Particularly at a Primary School level, the beginning of your child's long schooling career.
Research has shown that there are far more positives than negatives in allowing your child to do extra-mural activities. Firstly, at Primary School level, a child has the opportunity to develop a love for sport and it serves as good physical and mental exercise. At this level, children are usually introduced to all
varieties of sports such as - athletics, soccer, tennis, swimming, cricket, netball, hockey, rugby, softball and many more. Extra-mural activities also include a variety of cultural activities such as - choir, chess, dance, drama and music to name but a few. The more facilities a school offers, the more options a child has to choose and learn from.
Your child should be allowed and encouraged to try a variety of sports and cultural activities before settling on one or two favourite ones, which are usually but not always the ones they excel at. At this level, the focus should be on enjoyment and life skills which they can learn through partaking in various extra-mural activities. Your Primary School child should also be mature enough to understand that there is also a level of commitment in the chosen activity in terms of attendance and looking after the, often expensive, kit/accessories required for the activity.
At seven years old, your child should be ready to sit through at least six hours of traditional school time and be able to also complete the required amount of homework given. Research has found that kids older than seven years should also be able to take part in two or three extra-mural activities a week. Anything more than that may add strain on the child's growing body and cognitive functioning.
Psychologists have identified these general warning signs of overload:
- Your child complains that they are tired regularly and/or has regular headaches. This is often associated with the lack of rest.
- Their school marks are not satisfactory or they have declined since partaking in the extra-mural activities.
- They may struggle with time management as they are often late or forget things easily.
- They are stressed, anxious, withdrawn, or irritable.
- They are suddenly not eating or sleeping properly.
While this may not mean that extra-mural activities are solely to blame, they should be taken seriously. Perhaps it is then time for the child to cut one or two activities a week.
Another thing to take into consideration is whether you are placing focus on enjoyment at this point or whether you are comparing your child to other children and want them to merely excel in the activity.
It is important to be very careful of being drawn into the routine of others and their expectations. You know your child and their capabilities, they know themselves and their limits. We can get so caught up in what other people have to say that we lose sight of what is really important - the happiness of your child. In addition, you have to remember that what you enjoy/enjoyed is not necessarily what your child enjoys and you will have to ask yourselves if your child is doing a specific activity just to please you or are they doing it for themselves? Do they want to be competitive or just have fun and be part of a team?
Here are some guidelines to consider when helping your child achieve a healthy balance:
- Remember that there are some basic skills that every child should learn/be exposed to, for example swimming and basic ball skills.
- Ask yourself and your child why they are doing the extra-mural activity. Does it have value? Are they going to learn something from it? Is it fun? Does it encourage socialisation/teamwork? Does it boost self-confidence?
- Is your child being too ambitious? You may have to set limits, especially if they display any of the above warning signs or act out of character.
- One also has to consider any costs involved – are you able to afford them, not just the fees, but all the “hidden costs” and extras?
- Your child also needs to understand what commitment, endurance and perseverance is by being taught the value of time and money from a young age.
Whichever way you decide to look at extra-mural activities, whether your child is a chess player, a budding swimmer or ballerina, any sort of extra-mural activity will benefit them positively. It will be teaching them self-discipline, effective team work and time management skills. Just remember to include them in the selection process and choose activities that they are interested in, even if they may not excel in certain activities.
" Children make their own paths into the unknown, paths that we would never think of making for them." _ John Holt