As a mom of four, entrepreneur, and wife to the president of a youth organization, Osceola Panthers, I help oversee some 250 football and cheerleaders ages 4-14. For the last 16 years, our Osceola Panthers has impacted many families in the community with our programs, and I feel privileged to be on the journey with the families we serve. Our goal is to keep kids off the streets and afford them a place to go and belong.
I know It is no easy task to get the kids to and from practice. I totally get the day-to-day task of parents especially single-parent homes, when it comes to playing the role of football mom, soccer mom, or all-around carpooling mom or dad. However difficult it may be, extracurricular activities are truly essential to a child’s growth. While some parents consider it a privilege, and they take their kids out of the activity as soon as they start having behavior problem; I consider it a need. Programs like this could be a kid’s only outlet out of a bad situation.
Extracurricular activities bring out characteristics in our kids that sometimes as parents we don’t even realize they have. It becomes more than just another fun hobby, but these activities build their character in so many ways. As they enter in to young adult years, these will be some of the most crucial years of their lives as the peer pressure starts and their bodies start to change. They need a haven to keep them in a positive state of mind. This is the best time for them to get involved in something that really interests them. There are so many valuable life lessons these activities teach them, like; prioritizing and managing their time, building confidence and self-esteem, collaborating and working together, and contributing to the community outside of academics.
