Life enhancing programs such as those provided by Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas help in exposing kids to essential life skills beyond academics. The programs train children to be self-sufficient, confident and resilient in the face of real life situations. They help children develop positive behaviors and leadership skills.
Listed below are the benefits of life enhancing programs for Kids:
- Social Interaction: The programs teach children how to form positive interactions with different kinds of people. It helps them make friends and learn the value of team work when undertaking group tasks. These abilities make them confident while interacting with others and also help them understand other people’s perspectives.
- Self-Reliance: Children are encouraged to be self-reliant at the clubs by completing tasks by themselves and taking responsibility for their actions. For example, programs like Passport to Manhood encourage young boys to participate in activities that make them more responsible and accountable for their actions.
- Time-Management: Programs like Goals for Growth help kids learn how to complete tasks within a given time. Activities included are developing new skill sets, serving others, improving their school, self-improvement and more. They understand the value of allocating time for different activities throughout the day and completing the same within the given time.
- Decision-Making: From an early age, it is important to guide children about the value of being able to make decisions as this will affect future decisions related to their careers and life. The programs offered help in instilling the value of decision making and teaching kids step by step how to make small decisions while progressing to bigger ones.
- Financial Management: The best time to teach kids the basics of financial management is from the moment they can understand basics such as addition and subtraction. Through dynamic sessions, mentoring opportunities, field trips and participatory activities at the club, children are encouraged to learn the importance of budgeting and saving.
- Resilience and Adaptability: The club offers programs like the SMART Moves program (Skills Mastery and Resilience Training) for helping members develop assertiveness, refusal skills, role playing and engaging in responsible behavior. This helps them overcome peer pressure and develop self-control when faced with situations that are not in their best interest.
- Learn the Value of Healthy Habits: The healthy lifestyle programs offered at the club help children learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Interactive sessions that consist of activities and discussions that reinforce healthy habits are held. Children are given tips and lessons on physical fitness, healthy food choices, mental health, positive relationships and developing positive recreational habits.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Texas offers life enhancing programs such as good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyle programs. Details about what each program consists of can be found on the club’s website.
Character building activities refer to activities that foster morals and values in youngsters. These activities help youngsters develop emotional intelligence for handling all kinds of situations as they grow. A good way of engaging students in character development activities is to involve them in after-school activities that focus on instilling kindness, honesty, respect and empathy. Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas provide a variety of activities that focus on character development e.g. Goals for Growth, Keystone Clubs, Youth of the Year and more.
Listed below are ways in which character development activities benefit students:
- Instill Values: As children grow and interact with different kinds of people in the society, they require certain values for healthy relationships. They need values like compassion, empathy, respect, honesty, discipline, etc. These can be taught through specific activities under the supervision of responsible adults. The Million Members, Million Hours of Services at Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas is a program dedicated to instilling values in youngsters.
- Emotional Skills: The activities make youngsters resilient individuals by teaching them ways with which they can regulate their emotions during challenging situations. The after-school activities help them practice good judgment and resilience. They are also encouraged to exercise self control when it comes to risky behaviors amongst peers. Youngsters learn how to say no when required and also how to remain balanced in all kinds of situations.
- Leadership Skills: The activities aim to strengthen their leadership skills, goal setting abilities and teamwork capabilities which are beneficial in personal and professional situations. The programs offered revolve around academic performance, community services, interpersonal skills and career preparation. When students interact with other students at an after school club, they learn valuable life skills like conflict resolution, sharing, socializing and more.
- Encourage Diversity: Exposing youngsters to activities that demand working together in a team towards a common goal teaches them the value of appreciating unique capabilities of one another. They develop respect for others and learn the importance of working together in spite of difference of opinions, backgrounds, cultures and more.
- Better Academic Performance: Children who a part of after-school activities that emphasize good character are more likely to perform better academically. The reason for this is that the activities help them understand the value of hard work, commitment and dedication to a task at hand. They apply the same principles in their personal and academic lives which lead to positive results.
Effective communication skills are one of the most profound skills for success. They help an individual to express himself confidently and clearly. These skills consist of verbal communication and non-verbal gestures in the form of body language. The best time to start working on communication skills is during childhood.
Here are some ways with which communication skills among kids can be improved:
- Avoid Over-Correction: Resist the temptation of over-correcting your child. Practice patience and understand that every skill takes time to develop and is based on trial and error. Correct sparingly and encourage your child to speak more irrespective of mistakes.
- Be A Role-Model: Children learn by example, so set an example of what you want their communication style to be like. Watch your tone, pronunciation, speed and words used as that is what they will mimic.
- Read More: Read as much as you can with your child as this will introduce new vocabulary and expand his horizons. Do not limit reading to books only but explore everything around you for something to read. This could be a written manual, a cereal box, the newspaper, a poster, etc.
- Praise Often: Praise your child for talking but do not overdo it. When they are younger, try praising them often throughout the day and when they are older, praise them sparingly for things like using a new word. Praise just enough to keep your child motivated and eager to get better.
- Ask Open Ended Questions: This does not mean that you overwhelm your child with a stream of endless questions. Try to be an interesting conversation partner without sounding too interrogative. For example, ask questions like, “What did you do with your friends today?”, “What is it that you like about this book?”, etc.
- Avoid Gadgets: Keep gadgets like phones, televisions, video games, etc. away when communicating with a child; there should be minimum distractions. It will help in strengthening communication skills, expanding imagination and encouraging conversations.
- Work On Body Language: Teach your child about non-verbal cues as a form of communication. Explain the meaning of different body movements and the emotions they convey. Encourage your child to observe people and try to understand what their movements convey.
- Other Tips: Apart from the above-mentioned tips, good communication skills can be achieved by practicing how to make eye-contact while talking to others, asking relevant questions, pausing to think, learning the importance of taking turns during a dialect, active listening, etc.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas offers a safe and secure environment for kids to socialize and build communication skills. The clubs organize various life skill development activities for kids. To know more tips for developing communication skills among kids in Killeen, visit 703 N 8th St.
Killeen, TX – 76541 or call at (254) 699 – 5808.