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Enrichment

How to Decide Which Enrichment Programs Match Your Child’s Needs
By Stacy DeBroff

Between gymnastics, dance classes, art lessons, and other classes, the enticing smorgasbord of possibilities seems endless. But how do you decide which ones match both your child’s wants and needs? Here are some tips to help you pick the perfect classes:

THINK OF AGE 4-10 AS THE TRIAL YEARS

1. Treat the years between ages 4 and 10 as the “trial years,” a time for your child to explore interests without pressure, discover passions while having fun, and to see what she wants to stick with and pursue further.

2. Allow your toddler and elementary school child to experience an extensive mix of activities that will help him start define his interests and personality.

3. Remember not to make sweeping judgments about your child’s abilities or skills when she’s young. Innumerable athletes were told as young children that they lacked the physical abilities to succeed. Ask your child which activities she has an interest in or thinks she might enjoy.

HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND THE RIGHT FIT

1. Look for clues about what your child might enjoy by how she spends her free time at home, whether it is jumping and climbing, staging plays, or doing art projects.

2. Encourage your child to pursue her natural interests. As soon as your child starts expressing her opinions, let her weigh in on choosing her own activities.

3. Explain when financial or transportation considerations limit her choices.

MATCHING ACTIVITIES TO YOUR CHILD’S PHYSIQUE

1. Evaluate your child’s body type and physical strengths. Some sports, activities, and musical instruments, require a very specific body type. Some require being as tall as a basketball player while others require being petite like a gymnast or figure skater.

2. This doesn’t mean that your child has to fit the stereotype in order to have fun or succeed. Many children come up with ways to maximize their abilities or overcome their physical limitations through determination and skill development. Still other children simply love a sport and do not mind that they may not be the best at it.

3. Moreover, your child’s body can change dramatically during adolescence and puberty, with some children not becoming fully-grown until the end of high school.

4. If your child is small, find a program which groups kids by size as well as by age. Or if your child is up for it, have her join a team with kids a year younger.

5. In many activities, being small is an asset. This ranges from endurance sports like running and swimming, to sports like gymnastics and dance that require agility and balance over strength or bulk.

THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF YOUR CHILD’S FRIENDS

1. Find out which activities your child’s friends are doing. If your child is reluctant to join activities, she may be more likely to participate in an activity that she can do with them.

2. If you child ends up not quite fitting in with her friends’ activities, you’ll need to balance her social needs with trying less popular activities that may be better suited to her interests and strengths.

3. One great benefit of activities is that they enable your child to meet other kids from different schools in your town. By the time she reaches middle school, your child will already know many of her new incoming classmates.

4. For those children in private school, activities serve as the link to neighborhood-based friendships.

PRESSURE TO FOLLOW THE “IN-CROWD”

1. Every community has its passions and at some point along the way you or your child will undoubtedly encounter enormous peer pressure to join in on your community’s most popular structured activities.

2. Depending on the activities in your community, you’ll find the parenting in-crowd heading in a certain direction. Remind yourself to help your child pick activities based on her interests, instead of being swept up in the herd mentality. Sometimes your child wants to pursue an activity or sport not in vogue at the moment in your community or among his peers.   

3. Be willing to think outside the box when it comes to choices. Do not limit your choice to the most popular sports; consider alternative activities, such as fencing. So what if soccer is the most popular sport in your area? If your child dislikes it, look off the beaten path for an alternative, whether it be archery, karate, or volleyball.

Stacy DeBroff is the author of four books, including “Sign Me Up! The Parent’s Complete Guide to Sports, Activities, and Extracurriculars,” and she runs the Web site www.momcentral.com.