How do you prioritise Extra Curricular Activities?

[charade]

I find the number of activities for kids in Hong Kong too much and I hope I can get away with sending my kid - now still a baby - for just one activity. 'Get away with' because I heard from my colleagues that for getting admission to some local schools, playing piano is not enough, they must also do another instrument. Growing up in India I did athletics every morning and piano lessons once a week. The athletics my parents insisted on as they felt it would improve my health (I went along with it because my elder sister, my idol, was doing it) and piano I chose because my elder sister was doing it. Most of the kids in my neighbourhood did no extracurricular at all, except when there was a play or sports in school. After school, we'd do homework and then every evening we would go down and play with the neighbourhood kids for a good two hours. Our entire summers were spent just playing with each other. Rarely was there an organised summer activity. Oh, if I could give my child that childhood - but here, it seems that even play must be scheduled into a playdate. And all these people I played with are doing extremely well in life, in cities all around the world, I don't think the lack of scheduled activities hindered them in every way.

 

[0ze_Kid1]

I would have to disagree with the thinking that it is only Asian culture that believe in lots of ECAs. I was back in Australia for 12 months and found other kids doing 2, 3 or more ECAs. Even things like roller skating!

For us I think 5 is a bit much but only because I have two kids and if they both did 5 then we would be running all over the place!

I chose based on activities that complement school or help provide growth in areas that school can't. Such as ballet or tap dancing because it helps develop co-ordination and grace.

For me swimming is a must too. Although we too gave it up and are only starting up again next week.

I also wanted them to do a musically instrument but we have not started anything in that area.

Finally - the child will help decide what to do. We tried Kung Fu and she hated it so it wasn't worth going back.

 

[blingling]

I agree... that's the kind of childhood I had (pretty much). In terms of impact on success, I don't think it has had much during our time. But sometimes when I see friends who are accomplished musicians, karate experts and academically accomplished at a young age, I'm impressed.
In my defence, I did do piano and taekwondo for a while and hated both - so I resign myself to just being a book bug and nothing else... lol!

I find the number of activities for kids in Hong Kong too much and I hope I can get away with sending my kid - now still a baby - for just one activity. 'Get away with' because I heard from my colleagues that for getting admission to some local schools, playing piano is not enough, they must also do another instrument. Growing up in India I did athletics every morning and piano lessons once a week. The athletics my parents insisted on as they felt it would improve my health (I went along with it because my elder sister, my idol, was doing it) and piano I chose because my elder sister was doing it. Most of the kids in my neighbourhood did no extracurricular at all, except when there was a play or sports in school. After school, we'd do homework and then every evening we would go down and play with the neighbourhood kids for a good two hours. Our entire summers were spent just playing with each other. Rarely was there an organised summer activity. Oh, if I could give my child that childhood - but here, it seems that even play must be scheduled into a playdate. And all these people I played with are doing extremely well in life, in cities all around the world, I don't think the lack of scheduled activities hindered them in every way.

 

[penguinsix]

The New York Times have a very important piece relevant to this discussion running today.

"Family Happiness and the Overbooked Child"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/13/y...ctivities-no-guarantee-of-later-success.html?

“A lot of parents are exhausted by their own overparenting,” said Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University. “They make so many sacrifices and are so stressed out by driving around so much that they explode at kids for changing the radio station.”

But isn’t it worth it for the ultimate good of our children? Not necessarily. Some of the most interesting insights into this question come not from psychologists, but economists.

“It’s easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful,” Professor Caplan said. But research doesn’t bear that out.

On a recent National Public Radio program, Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, said he and another economist could find no evidence that that sort of parental choices could be correlated at all with academic success.

“And my guess is,” he went on, “that when it comes to the happiness of kids, that kind of cramming has got to be negatively correlated. Being rushed from one event to the other is just not the way most kids want to live their lives, at least not my kid.” Professor Levitt was also co-author of the New York Times blog Freakonomics.