Extra-curricular sports edited by Lakshmi Jacota l Seven parents talk about their attitudes to sport for school-aged children.
l 七位家長分享他們對學童參與課餘體育活 動的看法。
l Opinions are divided, but a focus on school work as a top priority is predominant among those who are against.
l 他們各持不同意見，反對者大多認為學童 應將學業放在首位。
l Among those who speak for the values of sport, the arguments for its character-building function and its usefulness as an outlet for both energy and for social bonding are convincing.
l 支持者認為參與體育活動能夠提升個人品 德和質素、強健體魄，以及拓展社交圈子。
Against Jennifer has two girls aged 8 and 10 I don’t want my children doing any after school sports. Even before the Covid pandemic, I was never a great supporter of the idea of my children getting involved in sports. Now, with all the rules and regulations about social distancing and basic safety and hygiene, I feel vindicated, especially since you hear so little talk about how the lack of sports has ruined children’s lives. Actually, I have always considered sport to be something that should be left to those with talent and those who wish to become professionals. I know my children are not in this league, and so why should they waste their time on sports?
First of all, there is a big-time commitment when getting involved in any kind of sporting activity. There is regular training, usually after school and in the evenings. Then there are tournaments which generally take place at weekends. Some of these tournaments can be all-day affairs that leave the children exhausted on what should be their rest days. With so much time taken up by sports, when will they get their homework done, or be able to attend extra classes for school subjects that they are struggling in? I think out-ofschool sports are a luxury that should really not be imposed on parents or children. They should be left to those who are good at sport or take a serious interest in them.
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