Busy parents can ensure their kids make good use of the time available after they finish school each day. However it's important to choose the right after-school program and many people are unaware of all the options.

1. How to Avoid Choosing the Wrong After School Program for Your Child
by Lloyd Irvin
Summary: Busy parents can ensure their kids make good use of the time available after they finish school each day. However
it's important to choose the right after-school program and many people are unaware of all the options.
As a busy parent, you have to find the right balance between your work commitments and making a good choice for your
children.
That means one of your biggest decisions is what your child should do in the time every day between them finishing school
and you arriving home.
Clearly most parents want to ensure their children have the best opportunities available.
But many parents are simply unaware of all the After School options that are available for their children.

2. That means they may end up choosing an After School program that could be holding their children back and even causing
them long-term problems.
The fact is the average child spends between three and four hours a day passing time after school before their parents get
home.
In a typical school year, that means 600 hours or more.
Over seven years in school that can mount up to more than 4,200 hours.
That's enough time to get a college degree and more!
Wouldn't you want your child to be spending that time doing something useful?
But the truth is many After School programs are simply "babysitting" services where kids may simply be watched over by
other kids who don't seem much older than they are.
Or they are supervised by people without adequate training and expertise.
Too often these programs are nothing more than lightly supervised sessions watching TV or playing computer games.
While some parents may be happy with that, many feel these several hours a week are time when they could be doing
something to help them develop - as well as having fun.
In those 600 hours a year, a child can learn so much that will help them in all areas of their life.

3. One attractive option for many parents is an After School program based on martial arts.
However many parents have never considered a martial arts After School program.
Many have specific ideas about martial arts based on movies or what others have told them.
Yet a good martial arts After School program can offer a child many benefits, including:
- Improved self-confidence (bullying becomes a thing of the past)
- Better school results
- Greater self-discipline
- Improved physical fitness
- Enhanced focus and motivation

4. Martial arts offers a discipline and a structure that children can apply in many different ways.
Choosing the right After School program can therefore make a huge difference to your child in many areas of their life.
That's why it's worth taking time to investigate all the After School programs available in your area - including martial arts
After School programs - before you make a choice for your child.
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10 Questions to Ask Before You Choose an After School Program for YourChild
by Lloyd Irvin

5. Summary: Many kids have time available after they finish school each day. This time can be used well or wasted. Here are ten
questions to ask before you choose an after-school program for yourchild.
After school programs can play an important role in helping parents balance their work commitments with their desire to do
the best for their children.
Many children spend three or four hours a day between finishing school and their parents coming home from work.
That's why the decision about choosing an After School program for your child is so important.
Here are 10 questions you should consider before choosing an After School program for yourchild.
#1: Who will supervise my child?: When you trust others to look after your child, you want it to be someone they will look up
to and respect. You also want to make sure there are enough responsible adults to care for the children in the group.

6. #2: How do they select and train their staff?: Make sure the people looking after your children have been carefully trained and
selected using a proper process and that they are suited to working with kids.
#3: Who will my child be mixing with?: The people your child meets in their After School program will have a big influence on
them - both the leaders and the other children. Are these the kind of people you would want to be influencing your child? Will
your child fit in?
#4: What will my child be doing in the program?: Some parents simply want their child to be off the streets for a few hours
even if they are just watching TV and playing video games. But many see this time as an opportunity for their child to continue
the growth and development they are receiving in school.
#5: What facilities do they have to help my child?: If children are to be there for several hours, the facilities need to be large
enough and able to accommodate different age groups safely.

7. #6: What transport do they arrange? Some After School programs will make life easier for you by ensuring your child is picked
up from school. Others will leave you with that responsibility.
#7: How do I know my child will enjoy it and not be bored?: After School takes up an important part of the day so should be
something they look forward to, enjoy and get value from.
#8: How will After School fit in with their day school work? The After School program has to complement the education they
are receiving at school and that often means ensuring adequate time and facilities are set aside for doing homework.
#9: Will the program change as they get older?: You should expect an After School program to cater for children of different
ages in different ways.

8. #10: How will the After School program help prepare my child for the future?: Many parents recognize that this is an
important part of the day where the child can be developing themselves and learning skills that will prepare them well for the
rest of their life.
Getting the right answers to these questions will help ensure you choose the right After School program for your children.
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10 Benefits a Good Martial Arts After School Program Can Offer Your Child
by Lloyd Irvin

9. Summary: The time kids have available after school can be used well or wasted. Here are ten benefits a child can gain from
attending a martial arts after-school program.
After School programs can help your child make good use of the time between them finishing school and you coming home
from work.
Some parents see After School programs as simply a way of keeping the kids busy while they're at work.
But many see it as a great opportunity for their children to do something that helps them develop - as well as having fun.
Many parents have discovered that After School programs based on martial arts have provided significant benefits for their
children.

10. Here are 10 key benefits your child could get from being part of a good martial arts After School program.
#1: Improved discipline and self-discipline: Many parents come to martial arts with the specific aim of dealing with discipline
issues and are often stunned at how fast and dramatic the results are.
#2: Progress year to year: The traditions of martial arts provide a system that allows someone to start out as a beginner and
feel success as they make progress through different stages.
#3: Better school grades: Many programs will set aside facilities and time to do homework. Your child will also learn
techniques that enable them to focus better in class, which inevitably leads to better results.
#4: High quality leadership and trained instructors: Martial arts schools understand how to teach people, how to encourage
them to improve and how to reward performance.

11. #5: Positive influence and environment: In a martial arts After School program, your child will be surrounded by other
children whose parents want them to be the best they can be. Staff typically live the values they espouse and act as positive
role models.
#6: Kids love it: Martial arts After School programs are designed to be exciting and motivating to children. Programs often use
themes that children find motivating and which help them to learn and develop.
#7: Improved self-confidence / no more bullying: The growing self-confidence children achieve in a martial arts After School
program extends into many areas of their life. In addition, kids are likely to learn very simple techniques that allow even the
most timid to stand up to bullies or deal with dangerous strangers.
#8: Better goal-setting and achievement: Setting and achieving goals is a key element of martial arts that children can apply
throughout their lives. When they start to build powerful self-esteem and self-belief, your child will realize how much they are
capable of.
#9: Improved physical fitness: A martial arts After School program should help improve your child's physical fitness -
whatever their size, shape or ability.

12. #10: Your child realizes their full potential: Time and again we've seen children push themselves to new levels of success
through what they learn in a martial arts After School program. This can include greater confidence, motivation, purpose and
perseverance.
A martial arts After School program literally changes children's lives and helps them achieve what they are capable of.
They can achieve amazing things when their time is used well.
Not all After School programs offer these benefits and not all martial arts schools can deliver them.
That's why it's important to take time to check out all the After School options available for your child and select the best
available.
Making the right choice for an After School program can make a big difference to your child.

13. About Lloyd Irvin
Lloyd Irvin is a world-renowned martial arts competitor and coach who began his journey in the martial arts at age 3.
Hundreds of children have taken part in the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy programs to boost their self-confidence,
improve their fitness and achieve better school grades.
For more information, visit www.LloydIrvinLive.com