Why is extra curricular so important for kids

Why is extra curricular so important for kids these days

Rohan Sathyarthi was an enthusiastic and active kid from the very beginning. He showed immense talents both in academics and playing guitar, along with a good aptitude in table tennis.

He used to cycle around through the streets of South Mumbai every morning and the neighbours recognized him as a lively and lovely kid

• But that was till he reached his 10th standard. Although he was very well in a position to manage the topics of his academics along with all his other activities, Rohan was burdened with the pressure of topping his examinations. Neither his parents nor his teachers had insisted on him concentrating on academics all day long, but the fear of their expectations out of him made him worried and he started giving all his time and energy to studies with minimal social interaction, let alone extra curricular activities.

• The neighbours now seldom saw him around on his cycle, he stopped playing his guitar and table tennis and even stopped talking to his friends. All he did was to frantically devour his syllabus again and again in anticipation of examinations. • The end of this story is, let me warn you, a bit tragic.

Rohan, much to the shock of his parents and teachers, failed in his exam. Towards the days of his exam, due to high levels of stress, he suffered a mental breakdown. He was shortly declared as clinically depressed and is now undergoing depression.

EVERY DAY IS A STRUGGLE • The mind needs its time to replenish itself. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. Extra curricular activities, be it singing, sports, music, dance – can relieve stress in a very efficient manner and set the mind ready and fresh grasping new ideas and knowledge. What happens to a field that is continuously harvested without giving time for it to naturally replenish?

• – It becomes infertile over time and not even weed will not grow in it. The mind is also like that. It needs time to replenish and renew itself

• Research has proved that giving adequate intervals between studies and using these breaks to learn new skills will actually boost grasping power and concentration, sharpening the mental faculties of the child to grasp in more knowledge efficiently. Learning new skills and spending time on extra curricular activities is not a waste of time , but an investment of time which can yield tremendous amount of returns. Moreover it is definitely a de-stresser and can save your child from any kind of depression that may chance to build up due to excessive stress.