Reader comments
After-school programs keep children busy after the bell

This makes me sad.

What's sad? My kids love their after school program. It is a real chance for them to socialize and do crafts and art and science experiments. The two years I was working I tried to do the same stuff with them but it is more fun with lots of other kids around. Thanks goodness for good after school programs!!!!

Oops!! Meant to say the two years that I was NOT working.

This makes me sad too.
"After-school programs have been proven to reduce juvenile crime, drugs, teen pregnancy and dropout rates."
This is what family is supposed to take care of. Problem is, parents can't/won't be parents. Some don't even know how to be a parent. And then to even get anywhere in this world both parents have to work. How sad that one parent can't stay home and take care of their children.
AND YES, I'm a stay-at-home Mom of 3; ages 5,3 and 1month. We go without a lot of luxuries, live paycheck to paycheck, but in the long run will have a wonderful family bond.
I have learned how to be a friend to my children while also being the parent.

These programs are not just nice to have, they have become a necessity. Forty years ago it wasn't necessary for both parents to work, even among the unskilled, manual labor working class. Now this labor market has been overwhelmed with illegal and legal immigrant labor to the point that wages have been depressed to below subsistence levels for a single worker family. In addition global competition has reduced manufacturing jobs, and depressed wages there as well.

The skilled class worker has been sucked into the consumer, "Iwantitus" syndrome to the point that they have become become "wage slaves," because of debt. This requires both parents to work in order to pay the credit bills. Often since both parents have professional skills, it is easy to fall into this trap.

Since many of the parents today were raised in day care and after school programs, they see no problem. So, as long as society continues in this rate race consumer mode, there is no solution. Only when parents and government decide that the children take priority over consumerism and cheap labor will this type of program become unnecessary.

Wow, so judgemental. There are an endless number of situations where both parents and/or single parents have to work just to survive! Not to have a boat and a 4-wheeler, but to pay rent and put food on the table! Divorce, death, unemployment,illness and a variety of other circumstances can force families into situations they didn't see themselves in. What happened to the "it takes a village" mentality, that we work together to raise good, competent, responsible children? If you're lucky enough to stay home and take care of your kids, I'm happy for you! But understand that many, many working parents are doing it out of necessity, not to provide luxuries, and would love to be home with their children rather than earning a wage somewhere. If we can all work together to provide the resources families need to be successful, we should certainly do it! I think after school programs are a great service for kids and families, and the community as a whole! In fact, I'm going to look into what I can do to make it happen at the school my grandchildren attend. I'll even volunteer! Really!

Stewart's comments are mostly on the mark. But I just wanted to add:

Beyond the issue of whether parents have to work (and most of us know that making ends meet is a struggle - no judgement there)is the real problem our kids are having finding time to be kids. As a society, it seems we are over scheduling and managing away childhood; kids aren't even allowed to play anymore without a level of supervision that interferes with their development of the kinds of basic life skills some of us take for granted. (I'm talking about social, physical, emotional, creative, and the ability to make independant judgements - just for starters.)
I think a big part of the problem here is fear. As adults, we're afraid of what might happen, and so we're overprotecting our children. I also think we're afraid of each other (what other parents might think if we allow our kids the freedoms we had ourselves as children), and our children (how they might turn out) as well.

After-school programs can certainly be a good thing for some kids, and obviously some parents have to work full time. However, the government (taxpayers) should not be funding these programs. Parents should fund them for their kids. Government does not need to be in the business of paying for every good thing.

Another Mom hit the nail on the head.

Fear is a big factor.

I love the free range kids websites.

Kids need freedom and "unstructured" time.

Maybe we need to do with less "stuff" and just let the kids have some free time.

The entire raising of the kids will be passed off the state at some point. That's sad. But with giving them breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack... It's just so much time. I'm surprised there aren't a majority of schools that are of the boarding kind in the US?

Where is the unstructure time for kids to interact with the family? There is a reason that cooking and home improvement shows are so popular. Not many know how. I mean maybe they took a cooking class at some point but they weren't there to experience the making dinner or having a Saturday barbecue in the backyard on a regular consistant basis.

Work is fine to do for the enjoyment of it. It is okay to work for reasons other than financial necessity.

It really is scary hearing "some parents aren't raising kids right so the school should do it". ??? I don't want the pregnant teen to drop out and it can happen in any family, including a SAHM one. But maybe if outside the family had less role in raising the kids in the first place, there would be less pregnant teens in the first place?

i think children shuold be in after school programs because it is hard out here in this world and you don't eant your children to be caught upo in the drugs, teen prgnancy and all the others things that are bad for our children in this world