There have been conflicting views on how children should spend their free time. While planned group activities build obedience and cooperation in children, I believe it is more important for them to practice entertaining themselves on their own because it helps them develop problem-solving skills.
On the one hand, organized group activities foster obedience and cooperation because they assign children a common goal, whether it is the harmony that a choir strives to achieve or the scores that a football team aims for. To accomplish their goal, children must work with each other and follow the instructions provided by a group leader. However, I think programming each minute of an activity doesn’t give children enough room to use their imagination and, therefore, stifles their creativity.
Those on the other side of the argument say that, by finding activities on their own, children can improve their ability to tackle problems. During boring times throughout the day, they learn to be creative and resourceful to discover methods to entertain themselves only when there isn’t any aid or interference from adults. For example, when feeling bored, a shy girl may become more social and go ahead and invite the neighbor kids over (“Neighbor” is an adjective here). I agree with this argument because problem-solving is a crucial life skill. As children grow up, they will encounter obstacles and have nobody but themselves to count on to get through such tough situations.
In conclusion, even though organized group activities help children become more obedient and cooperative, I believe self-directed activities bring the greater benefit of fostering problem-solving skills and should therefore be prioritized.