By Cheryl Maguire

"I’m bored,” my 11-year-old daughter grumbled as she collapsed on to the couch. It was a rare unscheduled moment in her life. I cringed recalling what can occur when she has downtime. At the age of 3, I assumed she was quietly playing with her toys only to discover an entire wall covered with a crayon mural. 

She prefers being busy, which is why she partook in six different extracurricular activities this past spring, from sign language class to swim team. Besides avoiding boredom, there are benefits to having scheduled activities. Research by National Center for Education Statistics states that students in extracurricula activities had better attendance, greater achievement, and aspirations to higher levels of education.

Better Academic Performance. Even though my daughter was in multiple activities, she received all As in her classes. Through extracurriculars, a child is able to learn new skills which can be applied to the school setting. For example, my daughter was in the garden club and used information learned about plants in science class. Sports use statistics, addition/subtraction, probability, and geometry which can be applied to math class.

A College Board study found high school extracurricular participation correlates to higher SAT scores, SAT math by 45 points and SAT verbal scores by 53 points.

Adaptability. If a child is participating in more than one activity, they will experience more than one coach or teacher with different expectations. They will meet kids with a range of personalities and interests, teaching them how to be adaptable to people and situations.

Maddi and Deborah Khoshaba’s training guide, “Resilience at Work,” discussed the importance of being adaptable and how when adaptable people lose their jobs they thrive due to their ability to handle changing circumstances. Being adaptable is beneficial both in the school or work setting.

Social Skills. Children gain social skills both from the person in charge of the activity and through peer interaction. They can learn about teamwork by either playing a sport together or doing a group class such as a musical for drama.

In my daughter’s book club, at the end of their discussion they have social time. For one meeting she hadn’t read the book, but still wanted to attend as she loved the interaction with her peers.

Less Screen Time. Common Sense Media research calculated teens spend over nine hours per day playing video games or watching TV on average. Extracurriculars direct those hours to other activities.

Decreased Risk of Obesity. According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity has affected about 12.7 million children and adolescents for the past decade. Student athletes are more active which leads to greater fitness. 

Balancing Your Child’s Schedule. Be cognizant of your child’s energy level. It is OK to skip the extras when needed. When I noticed my daughter wasn’t enthusiastic about going to gymnastics anymore, we both decided it would be best not to sign up for the next session. Most importantly you want to make sure your child is happy and that the extracurricular activity is a cure for boredom, not a burden. 

Cheryl Maguire holds a Master of Counseling Psychology degree and is a married mother of twins and a daughter. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, Parents Magazine, and many other publications. She is a professional member of ASJA. You can find her on X @CherylMaguire05.