How do you think children should spend their free time?

Children's leisure activities are considered to serve a prominent role in their physical and mental growth. In the meanwhile, the huge number of hobbies and leisure-

time

activities mainly offered by technology can pose a real challenge for those parents who want their children to spend their

time

constructively.

First

and possibly foremost, part of children's free

time

should be spent on activities in peer groups, those simple games that are sometimes handed down from generation to generation. Participation in games can help children to acquire and apply a wide range of social skills, the ones they would never learn

otherwise

. These so-called childish games can teach them how to start and develop a relationship, defend their rights and compromise with other members of society. More importantly, they can teach children the basic principles of teamwork, and the necessity to collaborate with others to achieve a common goal. Those children who are deprived of interaction with their peers in games, possibly

as a result

of too much concentration on e

le

Suggestion

of

ctronic entertainment, may face serious problems in their social relationships in the future. In fact, games are believed to be an indispensable part of children's socialization.

Although

modern schools try to include a range of extracurricular activities in their curriculum, it seems that children need to receive more education in arts, music and sports outside school. In fact, arts and music play a critical role in enhancing children's problem-solving and creativity, both of which are of significance in their future. Sports,

on the other hand

, teach children how to collaborate in a team and define their own success as the success of the whole group. It is because of these considerable benefits that succ

essful growth of

Suggestion

the successful growth

a child necessitates developing certain abilities apart from what they learn at school. So, part

icipation in

Suggestion

participating

extracurricular classes in arts, sports, foreign languages and information technology should constitute a considerable proportion of children's free

time

, because

such

activities equip children with the qualifications that every single person is expected to have in the twenty-

first

century.

Last

but not least, children need to spend part of their free

time

with their parents. Being involved in social activities, parents sometimes neglect the importance and necessity of spending quality

time

with their offspring, under the impression that they are doing their best to send their children to the most prestigious schools, enrol them in more classes and meet all their demands immediately.

This

attitude has proved to be wrong, as psychologists do highlight the role of parents in children's socialization. In fact, parents are the most important agents of socialization, as they greatly help their children to identify themselves, learn social norms and become acquainted with their cultural heritage. A competent parent,

then

, is a father or mother who devotes their

time

to children, no matter how busy they appear to be. To sum up, I tend to think that children's free

time

should be allocated to peer activities, extracurricular programs and interaction with family members. All items being equa

lity imp

Suggestion

equally

ortant, ignoring any of these factors can pose a threat to children's balanced growth.