With school and after school activities, your child has less free time in hand. Since so many things are happening in a jiffy, be it academically or non-academically, your child does need some free time daily, as this also has a list of advantages.
What you need to know
During free time your child explores the world at his own pace. He may engage himself in fantasy play, like pretending to be a teacher teaching a make believe class or writing on the magnetic board. This allows him to create his own happiness. He may also schedule the work to be done before going for his favourite basket ball game thereby sensibly managing his own time. All these are life skills.
Free time also allows him to be an explorer, a scientist, discoverer, creator and innovator. For instance he may create his art wall in the room where he pastes his drawings.
Scheduling free time
Once your child is back from school, allow him to unwind. Let him have half an hour to 45 minutes where he does what he wants. Like have lunch, watch his favourite cartoon. You can join him and talk to him about his day at school. After dinner, keep half an hour for family time. Play card games, read an interesting book or just talk. Keep aside cell phones, laptop, TV and other gadgets. Make every Saturday special; watch a movie, order pizza, have a picnic in the backyard or at a park near your house, do bike riding, gardening etc.
As a parent you want the best for your child. Giving him free time will help him explore his imagination, creativity and problem solving abilities, thereby paving the way for a balanced life. Let him enjoy the joy of just being a kid at times.
