The Right Amount Of Activities

As students head back to school, they have the chance to take part in all kinds of extracurricular activities.

Being involved in groups can help children both physically and socially, but if they get too much on their plate, it can actually impact their health negatively. So where do you draw the line?

She's a standout on the volleyball court, but Washington High School Senior Emma Hanson also knows how to score on the basketball court and in the classroom.

"Time management and organization skills are key," Hanson said.

Along with taking AP classes, Hanson is on the student council and newspaper staff, just to name a few.

"When most kids are out with their friends, I have to kind of manage my time with homework and all my activities," Hanson said.

But not every student handles all the extracurricular activities as well as Hanson. In fact, if it's too much, it could impact your child's health.

"It's a balance and it comes down to what each individual child's temperament and personality is as well as the age and stage they're at," Sanford Family Life Educator Jody Rysavy said.

Rysavy says some signs your child is involved in too many activities include: changes in the child's temperament or sleep pattern, a lack of interest in the activity and suffering from poor concentration in school.

"Is this affecting things at home? Is it affecting things that are happening at school? We want to encourage our children to be the best we can but also at the same time we want to be there to support them and this may be too much with them," Rysavy said.

Rysavy also says it's important your child enjoys his or her extracurricular activities. That's something Hanson shoots towards. And she also feels her hard work will pay off.

"Just getting to know other people I think is major because you're in contact with so many people from so many different organizations,” Hanson said. "It's overwhelming sometimes, but I think in the end, it's worth it with all the benefits."

Rysavy also says you should think about how many hours the activity involves and how much it costs before your child gets involved.