i remember my first struggle with 'extras' being guilt for dragging a sleepy, napless #3 to #1's extras. then, it was putting my foot down about keeping the kindergarten year free of extracurricular pursuits. next, i found myself purposefully steering my child away from yet another dance class which i didn't feel was a good fit for her talents. now, it just seems like there is an endless amount of 'extras' i'm saying 'NO' to because i value time for old fashioned play dates, chores, plenty of sleep, and even boredom. (however, that doesn't seem to be the way everyone else sees it.) in the near future, i anticipate the struggle to be a financial one- how do you keep extracurricular pursuits reasonably affordable? as i interact with teenagers, extracurricular pursuits at their age can become a very difficult question of priorities- what do you do when extras interfere with church priorities? and a little down the line, the debate will be about when obtaining employment and practicing hard work trumps the extras.
i absolutely believe that kids need 'extras' to find talents, build confidence, and have a place to fit in. i'm just surprised it can be so debatable.
2 comments:
Right there with you. I have yet to dectermine the perfect balance for this kind of thing. Glad I'm not the only one.
Yes, I hear you. Even allowing each child one 'extra' still equals hours of after school time away from home to be juggled with family, education and church priorities. Its interesting to think about how these 'extras' evolve. As youth become more and more committed to their extras (and parents have invested thousands of dollars and hours) it its hard to balance which mutual activities to miss or what family time to cut into. There are necessary lessons to learn here, though. It doesn't get any easier as an adult or parent, to balance your most important priorities with any 'extras.'
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