Children need to spend their time productively. Many parents believe that their children should participate in activities which are organised in groups while many others give importance to the ability of children to keep themselves occupied when they are not with friends. In my opinion, children need to socialise with their peers as well as learn to be productive when they are alone.

Children must be a part of the activities that are organised with their friends. They attain numerous skills such as teamwork, leadership roles, social and communication skills. In other words, they learn how to interact with other people which is a skill crucial for achieving success in life. By participating in group activities, children can make friends who have similar interests, which ultimately leads to happiness in the future. Children also get a chance to meet people from different cultural backgrounds that can help them to learn about several places and cultures. Humans are social beings and hence interacting with other children is vital for their mental well being.

However, children also need to spend some time alone to develop certain qualities which are difficult to achieve when being occupied with others. They should have time to reflect on themselves and identify their interests when alone and bored. They also need to focus on academics so that they get good scores in exams which are required to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Children can also spend time developing in their leisure like painting, poetry, reading, writing stories, learn a new craft and many more. It is particularly useful when they want to relax and have a break from stressful schoolwork or job demands in the future when they grow up.

I believe that parents should give equal importance to their children to participate in group activities as well as encourage them to be productive when they are alone. For instance, there should be activities like sports, dance, scouting and theatres, which can help children not only in attaining the skill but also learn social and communication skills. In addition to this, children need to spend some quality time alone to discover themselves and be productive. Being alone helps children to be creative as boredom leads to creativity. If they learn to enjoy on their own, children will remain occupied, which keep them away from depression due to loneliness.

To conclude, parents must encourage and guide their children to be active in group activities as well as learn to enjoy time alone by doing productive work. By doing so, children will get a chance to develop themselves, and they get equipped to face challenges life throws on them.  BY Prema (Australia)