For the holistic development of children, leisure time activities play a very important role. Some people are of
the opinion that such activities should be decided and organized by the parents, whereas others opine that
children should have the freedom to decide how they want to utilize that free time. This essay intends to delve
into both perspectives. l, however, side with the latter view.
It is easy to see why some people opine that planning free time activities should be in the hands of parents.
They say that children are not mature enough to understand the value of time, and may end up wasting their
free time through unproductive extra-curricular activities. So, parents should plan the available free time for
their children, as they want the best for their children. Parents know their children well, in terms of their likes
and dislikes, and also their interests. They can organize activities that will help their children, s holistic
development. For example, they can have them play outdoor games, learn music or dance, develop their
creative skills llke drawing and painting and so on. Parents also need to ensure that the time spent on
unproductive activities, like watching TV, playing video games, etc. should be minimized, and they should set a
time limit for such activities.
However, I firmlv believe that children should have the liberty of deciding how they want to spend their leisure
time. Research has proven that the children, who perform unstructured free-time activities, are more creative,
and become more successful when they grow up. lf children are always told what to do and follow a set of rules,
it hinders their cognitive, emotional and creative development. Such children may not be very good at decision
making, planning and setting goals. The children, who are in-charge of choosing how they spend their free time,
are more likely to have better concentration levels and become more successful in their studies and later, in
their professional lives.
Furthermore, if children have the independence to choose the activities for their free time, it may bring to light
some hidden talent of the child, which may otherwise go unnoticed if they do only what is planned for them.
For example, a child may be good at dance, and maybe parents notice him practicing steps after seeing some
programme on TV. They may not have planned dance classes in his/her free time on their own. But, on noticing
that talent, they may then help their child exploit his/her talent. So, even if the free time planning is left on the
children, the role played by the parents cannot be undermined. They should definitely supervise their children
to notice some hidden ability, and also to ensure that they do not harm themselves.
To sum up, I would like to reiterate that children and youngsters should be given the independence to decide
their free-time activities for the complete development of their mind, body and skills, but at the same time their
parents' watchful eye should be there over them. 
For the holistic development of  
children
, leisure  
time
  activities
 play a  
very
  important
 role.  
Some
  people
 are of
the opinion that such  
activities
 should  
be decided
 and organized by the  
parents
, whereas others opine that
children should have the freedom to decide how they want to utilize that  
free
  time
. This essay intends to delve
into both perspectives.  
l
,  
however
, side with the latter view.
It is easy to  
see
 why  
some
  people
 opine that planning  
free
  time
  activities
 should be in the hands of parents.
They say that  
children
 are not mature  
enough
 to understand the value of  
time
, and may  
end
 up wasting their
free  
time
 through unproductive extra-curricular  
activities
.  
So
,  
parents
 should plan the available  
free
  time
 for
their  
children
, as they want the best for their  
children
.  
Parents
 know their  
children
 well, in terms of their likes
and dislikes, and  
also
 their interests. They can organize  
activities
 that will  
help
 their  
children
, s holistic
development.  
For example
, they can have them play outdoor games, learn music or dance, develop their
creative  
skills
  llke
 drawing and painting and  
so
 on.  
Parents
  also
 need to ensure that the  
time
 spent on
unproductive  
activities
, like watching TV, playing video games, etc. should  
be minimized
, and they should set a
time limit for such activities. 
However
, I  
firmlv
 believe that  
children
 should have the liberty of deciding how they want to spend their leisure
time. Research has proven that the  
children
, who perform unstructured free-time  
activities
, are more creative,
and become more successful when they grow up.  
lf
  children
 are always  
told
 what to do and follow a set of  
rules
,
it hinders their cognitive, emotional and creative development. Such  
children
 may not be  
very
  good
 at  
decision
making
, planning and setting goals. The  
children
, who are in-charge of choosing how they spend their  
free
 time,
are more likely to have better concentration levels and become more successful in their studies and later, in
their professional  
lives
. 
Furthermore
, if  
children
 have the independence to choose the  
activities
 for their  
free
  time
, it may bring to light 
some
 hidden talent of the child, which may  
otherwise
 go unnoticed if they do  
only
 what  
is planned
 for them. 
For example
, a child may be  
good
 at dance, and maybe  
parents
 notice him practicing steps after seeing  
some
 programme
 on TV. They may not have planned dance classes in his/her  
free
  time
 on their  
own
.  
But
, on noticing
that talent, they may then  
help
 their child exploit his/her talent.  
So
, even if the  
free
  time
 planning is  
left
 on the
children, the role played by the  
parents
 cannot  
be undermined
. They should definitely supervise their children
to notice  
some
 hidden ability, and  
also
 to ensure that they do not harm themselves.
To sum up, I would like to reiterate that  
children
 and youngsters should be  
given
 the independence to decide
their free-time  
activities
 for the complete development of their mind, body and  
skills
,  
but
 at the same  
time
 their
parents' watchful eye should be there over them.