Handy Tricks To Help Your Child Balance Co-Curricular Activities And Academics
Being at school or even college, children have to engage themselves in sundry activities, and not all of them are textbook-related. While academic activities are crucial for a student as they need to improve their knowledge to have a successful career, co-curricular activities offer children the best opportunity to develop their personality and time-management, problem-solving, and communication skills. Balancing academics and extracurricular activities will give your child the best chance to get the most out of their school experience.
Today, gaining knowledge and education are viewed as a competition instead of an enjoyable learning process. Teachers and parents constantly pressurize students to perform their best and ace textbook learning. Many even believe that co-curricular activities like dance, music, or playing sports are unnecessary parts of a student’s life. But this cannot be farther away from the truth because academics and extracurricular activities go hand-in-hand to boost a child’s holistic growth and development. Therefore, students must never shy away from extracurricular activities for overall personality development.
Your child cannot get too extensively involved in co-curricular activities CBSE schools offer that they forget about their homework or the upcoming test, and vice-versa. That said, it is crucial to find a balance between the two. Here’s how you can help your kid strike a balance.
Don’t Select All The Extracurricular Activities The School Offers, But Make Sure To Pick The Right Ones For Your Child
It is essential to be selective when choosing the co-curricular activities for your child. Several CBSE schools today ensure that children can hone their innate talents and skills by participating in various activities. The everyday co-curricular activities offered by schools are dance, music, drama, art, sports, and nature and debate clubs. There are also schools offering robotics and language classes.
While there are so many activities, it does not mean your child must be a part of them all. It would help if you were picky and not select more than two or three activities. Also, make sure the activities align with your child’s interests.
Prioritize The Activities And Create A Timetable So Your Child Isn’t Missing Out On Homework
Creating a timetable can help your child maintain a balance between academics and participating in extracurricular activities. You need to teach your child the habit of creating weekly schedules and encourage them to follow them consistently.
The timetable must be prepared ahead of time and in a systemized manner. It would help if you worked with your child to identify the most critical tasks and activities. The priority must be given to completing academic tasks and then extracurricular activities. Moreover, the timetable must even accommodate friends and social commitments.
Teach Your Child How To Manage Time So They Can Balance Their Education And Passion
In achieving academic success, time management plays a crucial role. A student’s life is exceptionally hectic with homework, assignments, projects, and exams. It would help if you worked closely with your child to teach them how to manage their time effectively.
You can create a daily schedule but make sure to give enough wiggle room so your child can unwind and relax. Alarms can be set to finish tasks on time and teach your child not to focus too much on a single task.
Time needs to be divided according to essential activity and task. Moreover, you can take advantage of day boarding facilities offered by schools like Sri Sri Academy Siliguri, where students remain in school for a few extra hours to complete their assignments or clear classroom doubts. So, when students go home, they are free to engage in relaxing activities or spend quality time with their friends and family.
Taking Regular Breaks Is Important
Doing anything excessively is harmful, including studying for a long time. It would help if you did not force your child to study more than 45-minutes or an hour at a stretch. Between studying, they must also take a break of ten minutes and recharge themselves with a snack. It will help them to focus better.
Adopting A Healthy Lifestyle Is Key To Balancing Academics And Extracurricular Activities
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will give your child the strength to balance co-curricular activities and academics effectively. For instance, you need to encourage your child to sleep correctly and cut down their screen time. It would help if you also created balanced meals for them to find the energy to focus and concentrate throughout the day.
Moreover, motivate your child to exercise or engage in some physical activity, so they feel fresher and energized. You cannot allow your child to become a victim of laziness as that leads to wastage of energy, and they’ll not be able to focus on either academics or extracurriculars.
While Co-Curricular Activities Are Essential, Academics Must Always Come First
Academics must always come first because it is a student’s responsibility to get good grades and learn from their teachers. Good grades ensure that your child can pursue higher education anywhere in the country or world and carve out a successful career. Surely, extracurricular activities help children achieve those dreams, but cut down on them if they are becoming too much for your child. Let your child focus on academics first, and then you can think of co-curricular activities.
Wrapping up
If your child is incapable of keeping up with academics and extracurriculars, you need to make a choice and reduce the burden. The primary focus must always be your child’s needs, and you shouldn’t put too much pressure on your child. Also, the co-curricular activities that you select for your child must be chosen according to the likes and interests of your child. If your child enjoys the activities, they are bound to pay more attention to them.
So, keep in mind the tips mentioned above and help your child balance academics and extracurricular activities.