Studies have become a main priority for children today. No matter what their favourite sport or favourite hobby is, they are often discouraged to concentrate on extra activities due to competitiveness in education itself. Today we see many children falling sick at an early age, turning obese and even suffering from stress due to their heavy work load. Are children destined to be trapped in books? Or should sports be an equal priority for any child? The Daily Mirror Life listened to some valuable thoughts expressed by a few individuals.

W.H. Manike

Health is a main concern. If the education system can implement ways to make sports compulsory in the curriculum at least then parents would involve children in these activities.

E. Karunawathie

Stress is common to everybody today. Earlier it was a condition only seen in adults but today even children have it. Education should not only be about the position you become in class. It should be a combination of academics plus extra activities.

Roshan

Parents should know to give a balance of both to children. When children don’t become involved in sports they eventually become less physically stable and would always fall sick.

Ishara

Extracurricular activities have to become an essential component of education today. Otherwise in time to come we will see a generation of academics but no creative people.

Sending in an exclusive comment for the Daily Mirror Life, Former President of the Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka and sports instructor, Mr. Chandana Perera expressed his views about children and sports.

Every child has to do some sort of extracurricular activity from Grade 2 such as cadetting, table tennis, dancing, music and the like. It’s high time that the government pass a resolution or take some strict action about this issue. Parents and teachers need to be made aware of the importance of extra activities to children. Sadly, we don’t have facilities like China to select children for each and every sports item or activity like gymnastics and allow them to excel in it.

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Benefits of Being Active 

When kids are active, their bodies can do the things they want and need them to do. Why? Because regular exercise provides these benefits:

· strong muscles and bones
· weight control
· decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
· better sleep
· a better outlook on life

Healthy, physically active kids also are more likely to be academically motivated, alert, and successful. And physical competence builds self-esteem at every age.

Source : www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/staying_fit/active_kids.html

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe
Photographs by Kithsiri De Mel