Busy parents know that the easiest thing to do to keep kids entertained when they’re home from school is to let them grab the family iPad to watch videos or scroll on their smartphones for hours. While this is a convenient way to keep them busy while you prepare dinner or do some chores, it doesn’t have the best effects on your children’s lives.
Too much screen time can negatively impact a child’s physical and social development. It also eats up time that could be used to do something productive, like learning important life skills and exploring new hobbies. If you want to give your kids more opportunities to find creative passions and productive hobbies, here are seven screen-free after-school activities they might love.
Team Sports
One of the best ways for kids and teens to spend their time after school is participating in team sports, whether it’s soccer, basketball, softball, or even cheerleading. These activities help get them moving–something that being glued to their phones never does. They also help improve their coordination, strength, and balance, making them physically fit and healthy.
However, it’s not just about exercising and staying active. Youth sports can also teach kids to be emotionally and mentally resilient. Since they need to work with other peers, they’ll learn the value of teamwork, friendship, and sportsmanship. They’ll also learn how to emotionally navigate victories and losses, even if they hurt. If they train hard enough and excel in their chosen sport, it also helps boost their confidence, which is always a benefit, especially for teens.
Swimming
Let your kids cool off after school by jumping in the pool and learning one of the most essential life skills: swimming. Whether it’s going to formal swim school to learn different strokes and safety techniques or just heading there for fun water-based games with their friends, it’s a terrific way to get them moving and off their phones.
It helps sharpen their gross motor skills, hone their survival instincts, and can even help them relax and unwind after a stressful day at school. Swimming is an excellent after-school option for kids and teens, but contrary to popular belief, you can even bring your babies and toddlers to swim, too!
Gymnastics
Kids don’t need to run around and pass a ball, or kick and splash in a swimming pool to be physically fit. Another way to refine their movements and boost flexibility is by getting them into gymnastics. Simple forward rolls, cartwheels, and floor routines can help kids build confidence in how their bodies move. It also helps them learn how to focus more and be aware of their body, as it demands attention to form and technique. And when they’re busy trying to perfect their form, their phones and tablets will be long forgotten.
Music Lessons
Do your kids love jumping into song and dance, or are fascinated by rock bands that command the stage with their instruments? If music is their passion, nurturing that love and helping them develop their talents is always a terrific idea.
There are many kinds of music lessons you can enroll your children in. Maybe they’re interested in belting it out in singing lessons, or are more interested in learning how to play the drums or guitar. Learning the technical part of making music can help kids with their cognitive skills, memory, and attention to detail.
Look around in your local community to see if there are any music schools with after-school programs your kids might be interested in. For example, if you’re in the Northeast and want your child to hone their creativity and love for classical music, look into Boston piano lessons from trusted schools in the area.
Ballet
Ingrain values like grace and discipline into your kids’ heads and hearts by putting them in ballet classes after school. This class isn’t your typical after-school dance program. Instead of just merely having fun, this art form teaches kids how to control their movements, be precise with timing, follow instructions, and be patient and persistent, especially if they can’t get techniques right the first time.
It also boosts their focus and concentration skills–something kids can lose out on when they’re on their phones all day.
Reading Books
If your child is a homebody, you don’t have to force them outside of the house and enroll them in lessons they’re not interested in. You can encourage them to try screen-free hobbies at home, such as reading books instead of doomscrolling all afternoon.
Whether they’re interested in fairytales, nursery rhymes, fantasy books, or young adult novels, reading is a productive way for children to spend their time. Kids immerse themselves in imaginative stories with every page they read, which helps spark their creativity and improve their attention span.
It also allows them to bolster their vocabulary, be more articulate in expressing their thoughts and feelings, and develop empathy, as reading allows them to see things from different perspectives.
While you can stock up the home library with books in genres your kids and teens will love, you can also read to your children. This doesn’t just nurture their love for books, but also allows you to bond with them more after school.
Arts and Crafts
Another way to encourage creativity at home is by doing arts and crafts with your little ones. Help them get those creative juices flowing by setting up a finger-painting afternoon or doing simple crafts that even toddlers can do, like posters drawn with crayons or colorful paper crowns.
This doesn’t just give your children something fun to do after school, but also allows them to think outside the box and create something for the first time.
Arts and crafts aren’t just for toddlers and young children. For teens, some types of art, like painting, sculpting, and watercoloring, can also be a therapeutic outlet for pent-up emotions. They allow older kids to express themselves healthily and creatively.
Endnote
Making sure your children have fun after-school activities they can look forward to doesn’t just buy you more time to wrap up work or finish cooking dinner. It also opens doors for them to exercise their little minds and muscles while discovering their love for music, sports, arts, and more.
They’ll be off those phones and tablets, so they’ll have more opportunities to make meaningful connections, have thoughtful conversations, and enjoy these activities distraction-free.
Open up the conversation and ask your kid what new hobby they want to explore. Then, set them up for success by enrolling them in lessons or ensuring they have the right tools to explore this new interest at home. Remember, as a parent, it’s your job to make sure your little ones enjoy life to the fullest and thrive beyond the screen.
