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Im just curious how kids with activities everyday of the week have time for homework? My son is 7 and when he gets home from school at 3 pm he sits with homework for an 1,5 hr and then he reads and does extra math. All together maybe 2- 2.5 hours. Then it's time to get ready for dinner, shower, play a little and go to bed at 7:30 pm. The older they get the more homework they get so again, how can they be practicing everyday and still maintain good grades. I would love my son to be involved in sports at some point but right now I don't see how he has the time.
When my kids were 7 they had maybe 20-30 minutes of homework. They never did extra math. They liked to read (they still do) and they would read before they went to bed. When they were that age they were home by 3, had a snack and did homework until 4. Practice started at 6:30 so they had time to play before practice. Even if they had a bit more than average homework they had plenty of time to finish it.
Does your son have so much homework because he is very slow in finishing it or do his teachers assign a huge amount of work?
I also have no idea why parents push their children like that. How are they supposed to live a rich and fulfilling life if they never have time for socializing, vacations, going to the movies or other recreational activities?
I guess different people have different ideas of what a rich and fulfilling life is. For most teens (remember the OP was talking about teens) involved in activities their activities are their recreational activities. I do not know a whole lot of teens who are pushed into activities that they do not want to do.
I can tell you that my sons would rather spend their Friday nights playing in the marching band or on the football field than wasting time at the movies.
I think the colleges would rather see evidence of real accomplishment in fewer extracurriculars (national ranking, state band or orchestra section chair, award-winning video work, etc.) than a laundry list of activities that don't really indicate much other than that the participant was physically present.
This is what we have been told by our guidance counselors. The thing that many on this board do not understand is that a teen does not need to be in a million activities to be busy.
My youngest is a varsity wrestler and he practices M-Th and has tournaments Fri afternoon and Sat. That's just one activity and it keeps him busy six days a week. There are some freshman who joined the wrestling team who do not want to put in that much time. They skip practices and as a result most of them did not make varsity. If you want to be accomplished you need to put in the time no matter what activity you are doing.
High school activities didn't start last week. I am 48 years old and when I was in high school (1979-1983) there were tons of high school activities available.
The thing that has changed is that years ago these were considered extra. Today they are considered essential. In order to be accepted to a good school a student really needs to have something on their resume besides just going to school. It doesn't have to be a school activity but they really need something.
I posted previously that in the SIXTIES you had to be involved in extra activities. Colleges didn't take just anyone. They wanted things like yearbook staff, or sports, participation in clubs at school, a part time job. You HAD to be involved in something, at least where I came from. It was competitive and if you merely went to high school and got good grades, it was not enough. I remember joining a few clubs at school for that purpose. Other kids did a lot more.
It gives you an advantage in high school but running little kids around to activities is largely a waste of time, as far as I'm concerned. They should be with family and friends and playing and learning on their own. That's better for them.
It gives you an advantage in high school but running little kids around to activities is largely a waste of time, as far as I'm concerned. They should be with family and friends and playing and learning on their own. That's better for them.
Um, I grew up in the 80s.
And we played outside, too.
Not mutually exclusive.
I grew up in the 70s/80s and we most certainly had activities. We also played outside when we were little. We didn't really play outside as teenagers though.
I grew up in the 70s/80s and we most certainly had activities. We also played outside when we were little. We didn't really play outside as teenagers though.
but in all honesty, I dont remember after school activities other than sports, which I do not like and am not good at. I suppose there were, but I dodnt do any of them.
I am guessing that now a days, unfortunetely it isnt safe to let young children and even tees just "out" wherever, because there are a lot of nuts around. So by having these activites it keeps the teens/children busy..
I too like the other poster, could ride a bike all over the place with my friends and come home in time for dinner.....we knew when the sun was in this certain place it was roughly 5pm....and didnt have a watch.
but in all honesty, I dont remember after school activities other than sports, which I do not like and am not good at. I suppose there were, but I dodnt do any of them.
I am guessing that now a days, unfortunetely it isnt safe to let young children and even tees just "out" wherever, because there are a lot of nuts around. So by having these activites it keeps the teens/children busy..
I too like the other poster, could ride a bike all over the place with my friends and come home in time for dinner.....we knew when the sun was in this certain place it was roughly 5pm....and didnt have a watch.
I feel really old now.
In high school in the late 80s/early 90s I was on the academic team, band, drama club, etc. and also surfed almost daily and played basketball. All by choice.
As for safety, kids who are involved in organized activities are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.
The notion that there have not always been afterschool activities for those interested is just not true. There may have been LESS activities, but no matter the number and type of activity, some kids will just naturally gravitate to doing more and some would rather not.
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