If you want your children to flourish, get them involved in extracurricular activities other than sports, new research suggests.
Children in fifth, sixth and seventh grades who took part in both sports and after-school activities such as Boys & Girls Clubs, 4-H or Scouts had the highest scores for "positive development" and the lowest scores for risky and problem behavior, according to a study from Tufts University, published recently in Developmental Psychology.
"Positive
development" includes measures of competence, confidence, character,
connection and caring, the study authors explained.
About 60
percent of U.S. children participate in at least one sport, making
sports the most common after-school activity, according to information
in a news release from Tufts.
Although a large body of research
suggests that sports participation is associated with psychological
well-being, positive social development and higher academic and
professional achievement, some research has shown that participation in
sports may be linked to some risky behaviors.
The new study,
which looked at data on 1,357 adolescents who took part in the 4-H
Study of Positive Youth Development, found that those students who only
took part in sports had lower scores on characteristics of "positive
development" and higher scores on bullying, substance use and
depression than students who also took part in youth development
activities.
Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/09/02/kids-need-more-than-sports-for-positive-growth.html