Your 6-Year-Old: Extracurricular activities

Extracurricular activities 課外活動

We've all been warned of the dangers of overscheduling our kids, but a reasonable involvement in organized activities isn't all bad. At 6, many kids enjoy the security of structured activities, especially ones in which adults offer assurance that they're doing things right. Extracurricular activities can also build self-esteem, enable your child to develop relationships with adults other than you, and let kids see their skills and knowledge improve over time.
太多的學習活動對小孩不好，不過適當的活可以訓練小孩的自信，也可以讓孩子學到知識，除了父母之外，讓她去接觸其他大人，應有助於她社會能力的發展。

Your 6-year-old now

Looking for an after-school or weekend activity for your child? The best programs for 6-year-olds:
的確，在她6歲後，我們是想過要讓她在週末學才藝，不過這學期只剩下週六下午的游泳課，爸爸也不反對學才藝，我卻覺得寧可讓小孩學能夠運動、跑跑跳跳的活動，而不是一些黏土、靜態的課程，因為她的活動力還是不足！

Help develop cognitive and physical skills. Music lessons can help with math, team sports teach social skills, and dance or skating lessons advance coordination.
Stress fun. Seek out programs that are low-pressure and de-emphasize competition or achievement. If your child balks when it's time to go, it may be a sign that things are too intense.
Have competent adult leaders. Kids need patient leaders who know how to discipline appropriately, inspire, and deal with their quirks.
Nurture a special talent. If your child is gifted musically or athletically, she may benefit from more training. You're not prepping her for a career, though. Keep it fun or a child will burn out.
Fit your child. Programs can either complement your child's personality (swimming lessons for a child who needs to blow off steam after school) or can help them build skills that may need shoring up (drama classes for a shy child or martial arts lessons for an excitable child).
Your life now

Comparing kids isn't limited to milestone charts in babyhood. You'll find that some parents like to boast about their kids' skills, or you may have a secret impulse yourself to track how well your child is doing at reading or sports relative to the kid next door.

It's important to remember that children gain new skills at varied paces during the school years. What's more, everything you read about child development (including this newsletter) reflects averages. An individual child is, well, an individual. Take everything you read, hear, and observe with a grain of salt – and trust your gut about how well things are progressing for your child.