How much parent help for extracurricular activities?

[Anonymous]

I have a freshman in high school. He is a straight A, three varsity sport athlete and joined a few this year. If I left him alone, he would probably play his sport and that is it. While he is a great athlete, I do not expect him to be a D1 recruit. He could potentially be a D3.

What was your kid doing the summer after freshman year?

My kid is a very well rounded kid, almost too well rounded. He has a wide interest pool including art, science, engineering, history and political science.

[Anonymous]

Is he in honors classes? If you are thinking about college applications, it's good to show rigor. So consider adding some if he's not taking them already.

I was a well-rounded kid myself and hearing all the talk of "pointy-ness" is very nerve-wracking. But I do think colleges want well-rounded kids as well. It's good that he has many interests, and he's only a freshman so it makes sense to try different things.

For the summer, I would recommend a job or participating in an activity such as a sport that he enjoys doing.

[Anonymous]

Why write a title not related to the post?

[Anonymous]

Let him be well-rounded, and encourage him to get a job.

At 15 (or 14???), it will probably be bussing tables or working in a senior living facility. Maybe coaching at a sports camp or junior camp counseling. These types of jobs can be very helpful in helping them see what they like and don't like.

[Anonymous]

The summer after freshman year my kid took two online classes. One was for high school credit to free up more time in his schedule in the coming year. The other was a course run by a college (but for high school students) in a possible area of interest.

As for how much help, we are encouraging him to get involved. He found an extracurricular he loved at school because an older sib urged him to try it. I found the online course last summer, but wouldn't have signed him up if he didn't have interest.

[Anonymous]

I’d focus on finding a list of things he may like or not like. Let him pick. 100% important learning if he realizes he hates lab work, small children, noise, whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

[Anonymous]

My kids are 8th and 10th, like yours they are kids with a variety of interests.

I let their interests guide our planning for the summer, but I still provide help in locating options, transporting them to options, and paying for options.

I don't want getting into college to guide what they do in the summer, but I do want think it's good for them to explore things they might want to pursue in college. So, my younger kid is going to a robotics camp for a week, and a short sports camp on a college campus. My older kid thinks he might want to work with kids, so he's coaching summer swim, teaching swim lessons, and working as a camp counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

PP with the 8th and 10th graders here. My younger kid mostly plays sports all summer. I think it's reasonable to ask a kid to pick one other things, to provide some balance, but I don't think that it needs to be an internship or a non-profit.

It can be something simple like mowing lawns to make money, or taking an art class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

Getting involved with starting a non-profit : no
Encouraging/requiring summer job: yes
Encouraging trying things beyond sports : yes, but don’t force it “for college” that doesn’t end well for anyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

Getting involved with starting a non-profit : no
Encouraging/requiring summer job: yes
Encouraging trying things beyond sports : yes, but don’t force it “for college” that doesn’t end well for anyone

Agreed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are 8th and 10th, like yours they are kids with a variety of interests.

I let their interests guide our planning for the summer, but I still provide help in locating options, transporting them to options, and paying for options.

I don't want getting into college to guide what they do in the summer, but I do want think it's good for them to explore things they might want to pursue in college. So, my younger kid is going to a robotics camp for a week, and a short sports camp on a college campus. My older kid thinks he might want to work with kids, so he's coaching summer swim, teaching swim lessons, and working as a camp counselor.

Op here. I also have a 7th grader. He also has sports but nothing else. He is not as well rounded as his older brother. He is very social and likes sports. He seems not to be interested in anything academic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why write a title not related to the post?

I’m trying to decide how much Dh and I should get involved in trying to get him a job, internship, start a non profit, etc. if we left it to just him, he would play his sport(s).

please don't do this, everyone can see through it in admissions. it is almost a joke now

[Anonymous]

My kids worked every summer in HS, at least full time, if not full time and part time (like camp counselor during the day and ice cream shop at night and weekends).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a freshman in high school. He is a straight A, three varsity sport athlete and joined a few this year. If I left him alone, he would probably play his sport and that is it. While he is a great athlete, I do not expect him to be a D1 recruit. He could potentially be a D3.

What was your kid doing the summer after freshman year?

My kid is a very well rounded kid, almost too well rounded. He has a wide interest pool including art, science, engineering, history and political science.

If he's not trying to be recruited, have him join a summer league for a sport, get a part time job (hard at that age but he could lifeguard or something), vacation, take an online summer class (like summer PE, which is what mine did).

My DID go through recruiting so that was not compatible with a job, which was a bummer as DC wanted to work. But with all the tourneys and showcases it wasn't possible. So count your lucky stars not to have to deal with those. My kid loved doing all that stuff but I didn't as much. LOL