How kids can balance school and extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities figure prominently in the lives of modern children. While extracurricular activities like sports play and club participation have been linked to a number of positive outcomes, including improved academic performance, child development experts warn that too much time in structured activities can compromise kids’ creativity and make it harder for youngsters to learn how to structure their own time.
Managing school and extracurricular activities can feel like a juggling act, and it’s important that parents work with kids so youngsters learn to balance school work and afterschool pursuits. With the school year in full swing, parents and kids can work together and consider the following strategies to ensure there’s sufficient balance between academics and extracurricular activities.
• Emphasize that academics come first.
Extracurricular activities are undeniably important, but studies illustrate the importance of emphasizing academics over pursuits like sports. Though many parents recognize academics should be a student’s top priority, youth sports and scholastic sports now require greater commitments of time than in years past, which could make it hard to prioritize academics and may even give a false impression of future outcomes. A 2025 survey of parents of young athletes found that 22 percent feel their child could play higher-level collegiate sports. Those expectations are not supported by statistics from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which reports that very small percentages of high school athletes go on to play at the collegiate level. For example, just 1.4 percent of male scholastic soccer players and 2.7 percent of female scholastic soccer players play division I soccer in college. While kids should not be discouraged from participating in extracurricular activities, it’s important to prioritize academics and ensure kids are afforded ample time to do their best in the classroom. Recognition of that significance can make it easier for kids and parents to avoid overscheduling and creating a situation where it’s hard for students to maintain a balance that increases their likelihood of being successful.
• Identify the activities that are most important to students. Overscheduling activities is a concern, and a 2024 report from SolutionHealth noted that kids who spend more time in extracurricular activities are more likely to struggle with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Kids may find it easier to balance school and extracurricular activities when they pare down and identify the afterschool pursuits that are most important to them.
• Work with children on time management skills. Parents can work with children and even enlist the help of coaches, scout troop leaders and others to instill time management skills in young students. Encourage young kids to use daily planners so they can stay organized. In addition, kids can keep a daily time journal that documents how they spend their time each day. After a week or two of tracking their time, parents and kids can identify ways to be more efficient. Parents also can examine time journals to look for periods when kids can get some free time, which is important for young people’s development.
• Encourage kids to ask for help if they need it. Parents can emphasize that schedules need not be set in stone. Encourage kids to ask for help and offer input if the plan they develop with their parents to balance school and extracurricular activities is not working or proving too challenging.
Balance is important as kids navigate school and extracurricular activities. Parents and kids can try various strategies and remain flexible to help kids fulfill their commitments to school and afterschool activities.
