While some state that children should attend to organised group activities while they are not at school or kindergarten, others believe that parents should guarantee them free time to learn how to occupy themselves independently. In my opinion, a good balance between both points of view is the best option to encourage children’s development.
It is true that while participating in after-school organised activities, children get to share with other kids and social interaction is crucial at their age. On top of that, during these kinds of activities they need to practice their patience, for example, while waiting for their turn; and their attention while listening carefully to the organiser’s instructions.
However, kids’ development also requiere them to learn how to occupy themselves in their free time. The benefits of being alone and receiving no directions from adults are plenty. In fact, when a child gets bored is when imagination starts, and so learning. For instance, a child can start creating a story about a princess in a castle and, a few minutes laters, he will be using chairs, pillows and sheets in order to build that castle in his own room. As a result, he will be developing his planning, coordination, and visuoperceptual skills.
In conclusion, I believe that parents should send their children to these kind of organised group activities twice a week, so they have the opportunity to get in touch with other kids and learn new skills in a safe environment. During the rest of the week, children should have free time at home or at the park to explore their imagination and learn how to solve problems by themselves. This is because, as adults they will not always have someone to tell them what to do, so them being able to elaborate own games and stories today will help them to be independent adults in the future.