Sports, art, and music. These may be some of the after school enrichment programs you have taken back in elementary school. There was this excitement about taking these extra classes; staying with your friends after school, and getting to engage in activities that did not require academic work.

Unfortunately, not all kids are able to participate in these programs. Those kids mainly come from low-income families. Some claim that children coming from low-income families should focus solely on education after school, but it might just be the opposite. Underprivileged kids should be given the opportunities to participate in after school activities as they may see benefits in their social, physical, and mental capabilities.

In the United States, there are 72.4 million children under the age of 18.1 The percentage of children living in low-income families is 41%.2 That is approximately 29.7 million. 29.7 million children who may not get to experience the luxuries of taking part in soccer, or painting, or singing.

The obvious solution that may come to mind, is for the parents to earn enough money to enroll the children in these programs. But this is not as simple as it may seem. The first problem they may encounter is the lack of jobs in society.3 Children with employed parent(s) working full-time are less likely to live in low-income families compared to children with unemployed parent(s), but half of low-income children have parents who have full-time jobs.4 So even if there was an abundance of work, and parents started to work full-time and year-round, it may not completely solve the crisis on families escaping low-income.

The second problem they may face is their lack of education. Parents with higher levels of education decreases the likelihood of their children in low-income families.5 The problem with this, is that it would be difficult for current parents to go back to school to earn their high school diploma or go through college, and work, and take care of their children. But even if they did, a study from the National Center for Children in Poverty shows that a significant percentage of low-income families, 48%, are headed by parent(s) who have received some type of college education.6 This may be due to the fact that low-income individuals tend to be more dependent on government programs, thus retiring earlier on in their life or working only part-time jobs.7 For those who voluntarily decide to not work, their children may suffer from these decisions, affecting their childhood and ultimately, their adulthood.

Lastly, more earners in the family would contribute to income, but that may mean the children get neglected and left alone after school to take care of themselves. If, instead, they were able to attend a program alongside other children around their age, there may be an increased chance for building connections with others. Through these interactions, children may learn how to share, negotiate, settle disagreements, and speak up for themselves.8 These traits contribute to a child’s social skills, which can become much more important later on in life, when people do these things to earn a living.

Parents often face various stressors in trying to earn a living alone. Having to handle children on top of that can be a bit much. To relieve some of their worries, they could send their children to after school programs, which provides a safe environment where children are able to engage in various activities. They also offer time to focus on academic work.

After school programs promote physical activity, which can be very beneficial to a child. It can reduce the chances of becoming obese, helps to prevent health problems, and much more. In addition, research from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that a notable shift in activity can enhance a child’s mental capacity and ability to store new information.9 This can improve children’s academic performances, especially those who experience disparities in education. Having a time during the day to play also allows children an outlet for them to exert any stress they may feel at home or school. It can reduce risky behavior, and may lead to a boost in motivation for a child to do well in school.10

For low-income families to afford after school activities for their children, school districts should collaborate with local, non-profit afterschool programs, such as the YMCA, to provide information about volunteer opportunities for students. On their websites or the bulletins, schools, mainly high schools, can spread the word about these programs. The YMCA serves 9 million children, focusing on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.11 In over 10,000 neighborhoods nationwide, individuals can easily volunteer and support this organization.12 They offer leadership positions, coaching students in classes, and much more.13 Not just limited to the YMCA, high school students can tutor children in reading, writing, or math, and if that is not one of their strongest points, they can help with activities, such as sports or performing arts. Problems may rise with student volunteers taking care of young children, so these after school programs could have short training sessions a few times throughout the year to educate the volunteers on how to properly look after kids. The rising costs of afterschool programs, which result from paying for staff members, the facility, supplies, etc., may be reduced with the aid of student volunteers, possibly leading to more under resourced children enrolling in these programs.