or one that becomes unsafe, but
involved parents will be able to
pick up on the difference.
When I was growing up my parents exposed me to many activities, although, never two during
the same season. Eventually at
eight years old it was collectively
decided that I would try soccer.
My brother who is one year my
senior, was playing T-ball at this
time. I enjoyed soccer very much
and was experiencing success
at a young age. However, when I
went to watch my brother’s baseball game, I wanted to do what
he was doing. I expressed this
concern to my dad before bedtime one night after my brother’s
game.
Admittedly, my father is a very
strong disciplinarian and one
who is an advocate for not quitting and seeing commitments
through. I explained to him that
I wanted to stop playing soccer
and begin playing baseball. I
invented up many excuses and
even threw in the “I don’t like my
coach” excuse. My father, rather
boldly explained to me that I
was going to finish this season
of soccer and that there was
not to be a discussion about it.
Perhaps many would find this
approach harsh, but it was this
firm approach that encouraged
me and allowed for me to understand that I had made a decision
to play soccer and that getting
what I wanted is not necessarily what should be happening.
Years later, I can also see how
this very important moment of
teaching mirrors the life of Christian virtue and helped foster perseverance in discipline.
In saying this, the fruits of that
small moment with my father
were very positive. I continued
with soccer and went on to play
competitively for most of my
adolescent years and young
adult life, becoming a member
of my university varsity women’s
soccer team and I was even
blessed to attend two national
competitions in my senior year.
I recall many moments of family
support and encouragement. In
rain and often in snow my father
stood at the sidelines and communicated to me through this,
that my commitment was important to him too. This element is
so helpful for children to grow.
In times of difficulty within the
activity, such as children claiming they are not having “fun,” it
is important to dialogue about
this and show understanding for
what the child is feeling, while
helping them to persevere joyfully as much as possible. Loving
support goes a long way.
As an educator I have found that
my students who were involved in
extracurricular activities in some
capacity were very accountable
to their classroom work and
were able to understand the
importance of balance. Parents
should consider the amount of
extracurricular activities in the
life of their children to ensure
that they are not burdened with
commitments and unable to balance everything. For example,
there is no issue with children
being involved with music lessons and sport’s activities but if
these commitments overlap and
occur within the same time it can
become overwhelming for both
the family and the child.
The life of the family and the
core of faith in the home should
never be compromised due to
a busy extracurricular schedule. There must be effort made,
despite commitments to place
family life as priority. Too often,
I have seen children’s schedules
become larger than the focus on
the family life and things become
rather challenging. It is helpful
to set realistic boundaries and
expectations by creating an element of family time within these
activities that is unwavering. Preserving fami ly structure is also
more reason to limit the number
of commitments in a child’s life.
Whatever is decided upon in
regards to extracurricular activities it should always be a balance of fun, enjoyment, family
time, and an opportunity for
character development.
We should strive to have children excel in excellence in whatever they are committed to, but
also be reminded of what Paul
teaches us; faith must be paramount. “Do you not know that
those who run in a race all run,
but only one receives the prize?
Run in such a way that you may
win. Everyone who competes in
the games exercises self-control
in all things .They then do it to
receive a perishable wreath, but
we an imperishable. (1Corinthians 9:24)
Catherine Spada is a Public
Middle School educator and currently loves her new role as a
full-time mom. She enjoys giving
presentations and sharing the
beauty of the faith. Catherine
resides outside of Toronto with
her husband and beautiful baby
girl. Please feel free to write
with any questions/comments
[email protected]