After school activities for kids - opinion

[balletangel]

HK parents tend to pack their young children with lots of (5 or even more classes within a week) after school activities. I have been having tough time to convince myself on:

1) the number of activities
2) types activities (physical, intellectural, mental)
3) what particular courses suitable for 3 years old boy
3) are those courses really accelerate the learning curve of youngsters compare to those who take less courses or even without taking any courses

 

[plumtree]

Hi, There are a few other threads on this and a lot of views. My own view is that you don't actually need any 'after school activities' for children that young, apart from maybe skills like swimming (not sure about music?). Going to friends' houses and just doing daily activities is enough stimulation. But do bear in mind that many Hong Kong parents both work and so they enrol their children in activities because they reason that it's better for them to do those things than hang out at home with the helper.

Interested to know what other people think!

 

[rani]

At 3 we did swimming and socatots (which is really good for gross motor skills). And lots of playdates with friends

 

[southside852]

at 2 yrs old, my son did socatots, music together, tutor time and then weekly scheduled playdates with friends. we did tutor time for the exposure of chinese as we do not speak it at home. with the playdates we did both helper run and mommy run which was great and ideal.

i think plumtree is right in that in hk if both parents are working, then scheduled activities are better than sitting at home with the helper. I would do the same. I am a SAHM and I went to every class with my son except for the helper run playgroups. I felt the balance was perfect for our family.

 

[reei]

number of activities..

HK parents tend to pack their young children with lots of (5 or even more classes within a week) after school activities. I have been having tough time to convince myself on: (yes, when my friend told me the number of activities her son is enrolled in, i blurted out,, would he have time to sleep? ooops...)
1) the number of activities - depends on individual. my girl loves to sleep, so i can't imagine anything more than 3 activities when she turns 3. 2) types activities (physical, intellectural, mental) - planning to hv 1 language, 1 music, 1 sports..

3) what particular courses suitable for 3 years old boy - tennis/wing chun/ swimming /piano/ plenty.. i dont think we need to generalise what is for boys and what is for girls,, and yes, i wouldnt expect him to like making dresses and barbie.. dolls, but in general, all activities are okay,, i think..

3) are those courses really accelerate the learning curve of youngsters compare to those who take less courses or even without taking any courses - I think it is not the quantity of courses, but quality of courses and of course, your kids interest and his personality

right now, my 21 month old has only attended one course of kindermusik. other than that, she is at home, bonding with her grandma, following her and asking 'what she is doing ' all the time. She goes to the playground daily. that's about it..

 

[carang]

i think parents all over the world are starting to "over-schedule" their kids.

my kids each did one session of socatots and loved it.

last summer, my son did a few art classes and an african drum class both of which he loved. he also did swimming with a private teacher which was fantastic.

this summer, both of my kids will do swimming. my daughter comes to some of the classes that i teach. while i'm teaching, i'll enroll my son into some of the same art/drum classes as last year, if they offer them again.

both of my kids love dancing, so i'm considering enrolling them in a dance class together. my son has been begging for piano classes for over a year, but i'm not sure if I am ready to make such a huge commitment.

i have known some kids to take up to 13 classes after school and on saturdays.... i think it is utterly ridiculous.

 

[yvonnemommy]

It seems that I am one of the “over-schedule” parents My daughter does worksheets on beestar, an education website to review her school work after school. Beestar helps kids learn social, math and reading. Being gratified, DD loves it very much. Since the worksheet is timed, DD usually does them as play games.
Lisa

 

[flo]

I have tried it both ways - lots of classess and very little classes. I think it depends on the type of activities and the child's character. However, I do agree that activites should be limited to sports and perhaps music. Even dance, imho, is a waste of time and money for kids under 5. DD begged me to let her take ballet beginning from 2.5 yo. She is now four. I have been to 3 recitals and a few open classes. At this age, it is more like musical movement. You can't really call it dance. Better go and do other sports.