How To Teach Children To Take Advantage Of Free Time?
Free time is invaluable for every human being, however, in the case of children, it is a real necessity since, by disconnecting from homework, they can expand their potential even more and, of course, recharge energy to resume the activities.
Despite the fact that parents’ schedules are often somewhat complicated, it is essential to try to maintain a healthy routine with which children can learn to manage their time well. In this way, they will take advantage of not wasting their free time or committing excesses that could harm them.
Preliminary aspects
For several years there has been a trend, on the part of parents, to enroll children in all kinds of extracurricular activities. And although the intention is good, in reality, this does not favor children, because it exhausts them both physically and mentally. In the most extreme cases, children can present various types of emotional imbalances.
Some studies show that children who are over-programmed, with busy schedules of activities, feel pressured, overwhelmed, and stressed. For this reason, these children are usually tired and fail to fulfill what is expected of them.
Behind this excessive scheduling of the agenda is the desire of parents that their children be more competitive, have more opportunities to experiment and be the best in each experience. However, the result is that the use of free time goes unnoticed, masked by multiple obligations.
Why do children need free time?
Setting an example is only the first step in teaching children to make the most of their free time. The next thing to do is an assessment of the number of children’s obligations since, on many occasions, when children find it difficult to fulfill their duties, they are overloaded.
Just as it is important for the child to have hobbies, interests and activities outside of school, it is also important that he learns to enjoy the time he has to do what he wants, free of obligations. Here are some of the benefits that this brings them:
Benefits of free time for children
What can the fact of having hours to do what they like contribute to the little ones in the house?
- Energies are replenished and tensions are released at the same time, thereby obtaining well-being and psycho-emotional health.
- Leisure gives rise to relaxation and therefore, the expansion of the mind.
- Play and contact with nature help children to interact with their environment and to experience and understand various types of life situations.
- During free time, children can develop all kinds of fine or gross motor skills, something that significantly favors their development.
- Free time allows the development of new interests (such as hobbies).
Tips to promote quality leisure time
It is one thing to let children enjoy their free time and another is to ensure that they carry out activities that bring them benefits. These are some tips that can benefit both parents and children:
- Do not pressure children to do an activity that they do not feel like or are not interested in. Let’s respect your time and your space.
- When organizing children’s time, you should always leave a space for them to play and be entertained as they prefer.
- In leisure times, children should be more free and creative . They must have their own space to express their creativity.
- Parents should show their children varied alternatives to enjoy free time. From reading to a sport.
- There are some activities such as video games, which can consume a large part of children’s free time; parents are called to propose alternatives that do not isolate the child and keep him in contact with his family, friends and environment.
- If the child wishes, he can go camping in the fields or in the mountains, he will meet new people, and he will surely discover new interests.
- It is ideal for parents and children to share some interests and spend time together ; This will make them feel good and will strengthen family ties.
We all want freedom to decide how to use our free time. In our daily routines, we think longingly about the arrival of the weekend or the well-deserved vacation.
Although parents organize their children’s time, we must not fail to take into account that this time belongs to the children and they must decide how to take advantage of it.
