Extra-Curriculars are Extra Important - 2 min tip #46

Hi – Sue Blaney here with your Parenting Tip from Parenting Teens Info.com

My tip this week is
Extra-curriculars are extra-important >>Listen

It was late winter in my son’s sophomore year in high school. He was coming off a bad report card and what appeared to be lack of motivation. I was worried, and a bit angry. I was about to tell him he couldn’t play spring lacrosse due to his poor academic performance. I felt it was pretty clear he needed to spend more time on his studies.

And then I spoke with his school counselor. He said words I’ll never forget.” Mrs. Blaney,” he said “I have many kids who do much better in-season than out of season.” At first this was counter-intuitive to me, but then I got it. And he was right.

Keeping your teenager actively involved in extra-curricular activities may be a life-line for him or her. Before you go cancelling the dance lessons or forbidding him from playing on his spring sports team like I almost did, please consider all the ways these activities benefit your teenager:

• Every teen needs to feel competent and valuable somewhere in their life. Especially for kids who are struggling academically, extra-curricular activities can give them a place to shine and feel good about themselves. To deprive her of this opportunity could make your teen dig herself further into a hole.
• A teen who feels competent is less likely to get into academic trouble; his sense of success in one part of his life may well spill over into his academic world - without any intervention on your part.
• Teens who are busy with commitments must be mindful about the way they use their time. They don’t have time to waste, so they don’t.
• Keeping kids busy in those after school hours can be important. The majority of high risk behavior takes place between 3 and 6 pm on weekdays.
• The experts in brain development refer to a concept they call “use it or lose it.” What they are saying is kids need to use various parts of their brains in order to round out their development. This is an important time of their life to be exposed to a variety of activities and experiences.
• There are social benefits, too, when teenagers can expand their network of friends.

Here in New England those early spring winds blow cold, and standing on the side of the lacrosse or baseball field isn’t always fun for parents. But try and make sure your teenager gets to experience a broad range of extra-curricular opportunities…in many ways it’s really important to his self-esteem and overall development.

Thanks for subscribing to my Two-Minute Tips for Parenting Teens……. Til next time…I'm Sue Blaney