Are we killing children with such extracurricular activity?

Extracurricular activity

The current society, in which we live, becomes many times in society stress. Let’s hurry everywhere, we want to everything in time, we do not like to miss opportunities and move this way of doing and thinking to education we teach our children.

We try to have everything they want and ask us, gorged them and we used them toys that you can get pretty much everything you want them.

In most children’s birthday celebrations, the protagonist ends with an average of 15 to 20 gifts. They are usually children from 4 to 10 years and considered as “normal”. Do we really believe that a child of this age is able to process and assimilate this amount of information?

Extracurricular activity
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We are dedicated to “prepare” very small to be “something in life.” We had high expectations to be met, so that often give very early age lengthen their school day with all kinds of extracurricular activities.

And from kindergarten face daily a hard day “working” in very early ages are separated from their family and their primary attachment figure (usually the mother) to immerse you in a strange and demanding environment that instills her concepts and them prepares to “become”.

In some cases children remain in the school environment des 8 am to 6 pm on a day fraught with materials, learning and stimuli of all kinds that will bombard you at all times.

Where is the time to relax, to rest, to play, ultimately to be a child and enjoy?

The environment surrounding our children most of the day can be extremely stressful, cold and empty for a being in evolution and is a breeding ground for future mental disorders or behavioral problems or learning.

Over stimulation and activities to make difficult the proper processing of information and causes a stress that builds up and you can get to affect the development of future psychological problems. In fact is demonstrated the high correlation between excess stress during childhood and increased psychological problems.

On more than one occasion I have heard a parent explain in detail the tight schedule of his son, adding proudly that “it was not him any day” and each afternoon filled with some other extracurricular activity, to “prepare” for your future.

Sometimes other parents added some activity to schedule your child because he had not exceeded a certain note on that subject in school, and although the child did not like too much, “had to improve and get to excellent”.

These children are forced to grow hastily, quickly lose interest and any new environment, they try to adapt to the high expectations their parents place in them and assume responsibilities for which they are not ready yet.

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As they grow they will go in putting in place the feeling they are not good enough and they have to give more (increased auto demand). Your self-esteem will be damaged and may develop a guilt complex for not living up to what is expected of him.

Too much information, stimulation, speed and structure to which we subject to childhood can lead to a number of psychological diseases, in addition to killing the innate creativity we all possess. We must protect addition to diseases and possible damage emotional and mental imbalance.

Children should have time to explore, bored, create and above all run and play to release tension and worries.

Each child has their own pace of development and learning, it is important to respect and not overwhelm.

In addition all have materials that we like more than others. It is much more important to motivate those subjects in which projects that reinforce those that cost more. Sometimes it is best to lower expectations about their school performance. We will be giving the message that we believe in him and support and self – esteem will be strengthened.

Instead of extracurricular activities “to kill time” motivate them spend much time with their parents or do some joint activity with them in an environment where they can find each other and communicate.

Back ultimately to children of yesteryear and especially when it comes to be with our children “connect with our inner child.”

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