你為子女準備「好」課外活動沒有？

以下是轉貼文章，內容來自９６年中學會考英文科乙卷的閱讀部份……（當然不是我考會考的年份ｌａ，呵呵－－）

Lessons in what to learn

Parents in the 1990s are always looking out for activities which will encourage their children’s development. But which one should they choose? Ballet? Football? Sewing? Many activities are good for developing skills, but what is good for one child may not be good for another. Dr Edward Schor, an expert in child-care, says that it is important for parents to see what kinds of things interest their children so that they provide them with activities which will help rather than hinder their development. Children should not be made to do something just because the experience will have a negative effect on their development.

In addition to the children’s interests, the choice of activities should be guided by their physical and mental abilities. It is therefore important to consider a child’s age and the development that is associated with that period. Parents can then look for activities that will help the appropriate skills and characteristics. For example, by just playing together, children between the ages of two and five can learn social skills such as how to co-operate and get along with others. If parents would like to introduce their children to something more structured, experts suggest activities which do not involve right or wrong answers. Painting, singing or dancing classes, for example, would be ideal.

However, games with rules are not suitable for children under the age of six since the concept of rules can be very difficult to understand. When they are old enough though, team sports such as basketball and football are a good way of learning about competition and co-operation. Skills like self-discipline and self-reliance can be learnt through individualised sports or games like kung fu or gymnastics. For those who are not very sporty, there is a wide variety of other activities to choose from, such as piano-playing and stamp-collecting, which can develop the same kind of skills.

Regardless of which activities parents choose, the key point to remember is that the activity should not be seen as a test which children must pass. As one family therapist says, ‘Focusing on these activities to learn the skills is one thing, but parents should not forget that childhood should also be a time for their children to have fun.