Extracurriculars are just as important as traditional subjects, but more and more studies are finding they may be more critical to a child’s success than originally thought. After-school activities not only relieve stress they also help improve self-esteem and confidence.
Whether your child is an athlete or scholar, you want them to succeed in the classroom first. It’s easy to forget the important social and character-building attributes that come with playing on a team or belonging to an organization. When the focus is on succeeding in school and getting accepted to university, everything else seems less important.
Ken Rabow is a life coach who empowers teens to overcome angst and stress within their lives by teaching them to find what inspires their passion. “For young people and for schools, if they give people the freedom to really grow as individuals through the disciplines that don’t directly seem like they’re going to help education, they will powerfully help education,” says Rabow.
(Watch: Ken Rabow discusses helping students help themselves.)
For this reason, private school enrolment is higher than it’s ever been. Private schools increasingly see the benefits of educating the whole child, and also have the resources to provide comprehensive after-school programs. By building confidence through sports and organizations students have the means to improve their mental well-being.
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What do you do to relieve stress? What were some of your favourite after-school activities? Share your stories in the Comments section below.
About Wendi Percival
