What activities do your kids do and how can they benefit you? A recent study demonstrated that participation in extracurricular activities for kids is associated with better kid and parent mental health and less caregiver aggravation. The study defined an extracurricular activity as an optional ungraded activity occurring outside of school hours. Given the current mental health crisis among both children and adults, the results of this study highlight a relatively inexpensive and widely accessible strategy to improve mental health of children and their caregivers. Here’s how to make sure the activities don’t drain your bank account or your joy.

Here are some free and low cost activity opportunities:

• The local public libraries often have free classes for kids centered around a common interest such as art, minecraft, legos, of yoga.
• Check out the local town community center for recreational youth activities and teams, such as swim lessons and sports. The will often cost a fracture of privately run teams.
• Many communities have a children’s running series that are low cost to join and low equipment need – just a pair of sneakers!

While the study shows that our kids’ activities improves our mental health, maybe some of you feel like they stress you out. Here are some strategies to make sure the activities boost instead of drain your joy.

• Set a limit for how many activities each child can have per season,
• Accept that it’s okay if your child doesn’t participate in every activity or in a certain activity. I narrowed down my kids’ activities by the ones that fit my schedule. That meant no soccer, lax, or field hockey, and left us with dance, music lessons, intermittent gymnastics and swim lessons, and occasional skiing. And still, we don’t sign up for every dance performance opportunity.
• Allow other people to take your kids/watch them play. I just make sure someone is there to greet and pick up my children. I don’t need to be at every practice, lesson, and performance.

Limiting the activities and my participation in the activity allows me to have time and funding left for other family outings and for self care. Yes. Self care. >>>Sign up<<< for all the juicy productivity tips to make time for self care.

Here are some ways to bond with your child through these activities:

• Use the car travel time to check in and talk about their day, hear about their friends. Get to know your kid better. Maybe even sprinkle in talks about bullying, racism, drugs, and safe relationships. 75% listen. 25% talk.
• Learn the activities together. I know plenty of parents who took up karate with their kids. I have brushed up on my violin skills to work with one of my kids on her instrument practice sessions.
• Praise your kid for specific progress and/or wins they made in their activity. Positive reinforcement helps to build up a child’s confidence and self esteem and allows them to be safe and supported.

How do or how could your children’s activities benefit you? Comment in this post here. I would love to know if you agree or disagree with this study’s conclusions.