by Marissa Nivison and Sheri Madigan, The Conversation

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

From hockey and dance to chess club, families can be pulled in many extracurricular directions.

It's easy for parents to be overwhelmed by the choices of activities for their child—or also, how accessible these are, for reasons like financial barriers or transportation challenges.

In the midst of this, parents receive advice to ensure their kids move their bodies and challenge their brains, be creative, but also to carve out space for family and downtime.

A survey conducted by Ipsos for Global News found that on average, parents paid $1,160 for their children's extracurricular activities in the 2017-18 school year.

Fortunately, there are resources or neighborhood hubs that help identify available activities for kids—for instance, this resource allows you to search by Canadian location, activity type and price (including some free activities).

To help families navigate extracurricular activities, we offer parents suggestions to help make informed decisions about finding a balance that aims to align with their family values and meet the individual needs of their children.

Benefits of kids having a busy schedule

The good side of extracurriculars is that research shows kids involved in activities are more likely to have better friendships and fewer mental health problems.

Participating in multiple activities can also provide structure and a routine for children, which helps them feel in control of their environment and predict what is coming next.

Having a lot of scheduled activities can also help your child learn valued time-management skills, like how to complete their homework because they have soccer practice later that evening.

Friendships, belonging

Extracurricular activities are also a great opportunity for children to develop and nurture their own interests while forming meaningful friendships. Participating in extracurricular activities can help kids find a sense of belonging. Some activities may be specifically relevant to your child's culture, community or your own family concerns.

Extracurricular opportunities also allow children to explore new skills and to discover new strengths. Potentially, they learn routes to feeling accomplished that don't depend on academic performance. When they participate and succeed at an activity they enjoy, this can help boost their self-confidence.

Finally, participating in extracurricular activities can keep kids away from screens. A lot of research has shown the dangers of too much screen time.

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.