Effects of lack of after school programs for children 2 Effects of lack of after school programs for children Student’s Name University Affiliation Introduction After school concern for children is a social issue that is significant in the United States. It is vividly evident that thousands of families are encountered with the issue of insufficient or lack of activities and attention for their children when they come from school. This problem majorly faces families with both parents working; when the kids come home from school, there is no supervision on them from their parents. While the children are at school, they go through several experiences between the time they are in school and the time they will be out of school. In the case that both parents are working, the kids will lack the attention and support they need from their parents or guardians. The kids come from school after going through different experiences some of which are discouraging and may impact negatively on their academic performance as well as moral behavior. It is important that the kids get attended to by their parents or are involved in co-curricula activities that will help them fix and get over the various challenges they have gone through while ate school. In real life, there is lack of after school activities for children or there is no supervision from their seniors or parents. Due to this scenario, the children are likely to occupy themselves with activities that they think are good for them but in real sense they are harmful especially in their social life and their relationship with the community. This paper is going to look at the dangers of lack of after school activities for children, the extent of the problem, its consequences and the possible solutions that can be adopted to take control of the problem. Statement of the problem There is an alarming danger that comes along with the social life of children that are not involved in constructive activities after school or lack parental care. In some cases the lack of parental attention is called uninvolved parenting. According to Diana Baumrind, uninvolved parenting which is also known as neglectful parenting is a style of parenting characterized by lack of responsiveness to the needs of a child. When kids are in school, they are attended to by their teachers and are involved in play with other kids; but when they get home they lack supervision of their parents and are likely to involve themselves in behaviors that are harmful to their social. The children especially teenagers will find pleasure in taking alcohol and abusing drugs. They tend to believe that these will make them feel more relaxed and superior. 3 out of 10 teenagers that do not get the deserved attention from their parents especially after school think of taking drugs and related substances. The end result is they become irresponsible adults who may not even be able to take care of themselves. They become a burden to the community because ...

1. Effects of lack of after school programs for children
2
Effects of lack of after school programs for children
Student’s Name
University Affiliation
Introduction
After school concern for children is a social issue that is
significant in the United States. It is vividly evident that
thousands of families are encountered with the issue of
insufficient or lack of activities and attention for their children
when they come from school. This problem majorly faces
families with both parents working; when the kids come home
from school, there is no supervision on them from their parents.
While the children are at school, they go through several
experiences between the time they are in school and the time
they will be out of school.
In the case that both parents are working, the kids will lack the
attention and support they need from their parents or guardians.
The kids come from school after going through different
experiences some of which are discouraging and may impact
negatively on their academic performance as well as moral
behavior. It is important that the kids get attended to by their
parents or are involved in co-curricula activities that will help
them fix and get over the various challenges they have gone
through while ate school.
In real life, there is lack of after school activities for children or
there is no supervision from their seniors or parents. Due to this
scenario, the children are likely to occupy themselves with
activities that they think are good for them but in real sense
they are harmful especially in their social life and their
relationship with the community. This paper is going to look at

2. the dangers of lack of after school activities for children, the
extent of the problem, its consequences and the possible
solutions that can be adopted to take control of the problem.
Statement of the problem
There is an alarming danger that comes along with the social
life of children that are not involved in constructive activities
after school or lack parental care. In some cases the lack of
parental attention is called uninvolved parenting. According to
Diana Baumrind, uninvolved parenting which is also known as
neglectful parenting is a style of parenting characterized by lack
of responsiveness to the needs of a child. When kids are in
school, they are attended to by their teachers and are involved
in play with other kids; but when they get home they lack
supervision of their parents and are likely to involve themselves
in behaviors that are harmful to their social.
The children especially teenagers will find pleasure in taking
alcohol and abusing drugs. They tend to believe that these will
make them feel more relaxed and superior. 3 out of 10 teenagers
that do not get the deserved attention from their parents
especially after school think of taking drugs and related
substances. The end result is they become irresponsible adults
who may not even be able to take care of themselves. They
become a burden to the community because all the time they
have to be taken care of otherwise they can be destructive in
what they do.
Children that don’t engage themselves in after school activities
are also at risk of being overweight. Research reveals that in the
last three decades obesity in children in the United States of
America has more than doubled while in adolescents it has
tripled. The percentage of children between the ages of 6 and 11
years that are obese has gone up from 7.1% in 1980 to almost
18% by 2010. On the same note, adolescents between the age of

3. 12 and 19 years are seen rising in obesity from 4.9% to 17.5%
over the same duration of time (Larson & Wilson, 2004).
In the United States, most of the households own at least one
television set. Children that don’t engage in any after school
activities find it wise to spend their time behind television
screens. Without proper monitoring, these children will watch
programs and movies that are not helpful to them; apparently
they will prefer movies with fighting, violence, crime and
related themes. When exposed to these for some time, they tend
to think that it right to practice what they watched on television.
In the long run the children may involve themselves in criminal
activities because they think it right for them. This is a social
problem because it has a negative impact on the community.
Children will start practicing crime due to lack of appropriate
after school programs.
In adolescents, if there is no activity after school, they will go
out socializing with their peers. Due to the changes and
developments in their bodies, they will tend to associate with
friends of the opposite gender. Being alone with nobody around
them, they are likely to end up having sexual intercourse which
could be unsafe or unprotected. The chances of pregnancies that
are not planned for is very high if this behavior goes on from
time to time. The kids born will not be properly taken care of by
their parents because they are still young and unable to provide
for the needs. This now becomes a problem for the society to
take care of such kids who may end up not getting the care they
should have received. They may grow up being another burden
to the community.
Children and adolescents are not wise when it comes to decision
making. When left on their own, they will choose friends that
will help them accomplish their missions. The adolescents may
select bad company that will later ruin their character; their
choice of friends could no be the best for their good. All this is

4. caused by the fact that children lack programs that will guide
them on what to do when they come home from school. The
friends chosen by teenagers are the ones who are likely to lead
them into all kinds of social evils in the community. The friends
are the ones who will provide links on how to get alcohol, drugs
and other substances.
This issue of lack of activities or programs for children after
school posses a threat to the social well being of the community
at large and not just the involved individuals; when the effects
come out, the entire community suffers. For example, if it is
crime, the victims are the members of the community that the
children reside. It is therefore necessary that investigations are
initiated with the aim of determining the best programs that can
be established for children and adolescents after they come from
school.
The programs can have a positive impact in the social life of the
community because the youth can engage themselves in
activities that will make them useful to the society. This makes
them more responsible adults in the future and can participate in
the building of the economic as well as the social life of the
communities that they come from. The after school programs
and activities will make children be helpful in the community
(Canuto Marcello & Jason Yaeger, 2000).
Apart from being helpful to the community, the after school
programs, depending on what they are, can be used to discover
the various talents that children have. Once talents have been
discovered, they can be majored on and be what the children
will earn a living when they grow up. After school programs
are important for the social life of the community, lack of them
translates to a social problem in the community.
References
Canut, M. & Jason, Y. (2000). The archeology of communities.
Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

5. Diana, B. (2000). Parenthood in America: An encyclopedia.
Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO
Larson, R. & Wilson, S. (2004). Handbook for adolescent
psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Grading Criteria for Integrative Paper
Grading Criteria for Integrative Paper
A maximum number of points will be available for the
following sections of the Integrative Paper. Hopefully, this may
prove useful for you.
Use of the Mandatory Outline headings--all Outline headings
should be included in your paper. You may include additional
headings, however, none of the headings in the Mandatory
Outline should be omitted.
1. Introduction: 30 points are available. The Introduction
should identify your social issue/topic from a problem
perspective; be concise in describing the social issue; and
briefly indicate what the paper will contain. Written in third
person.
2. Statement of the Problem: 30 points are available. The
Statement of the Problem should elaborate briefly on the social
issue/topic identified; substantiate that a problem exists by
including a statistical reference or two; and be concise and to
the point. Written in third person.
3. Review of Literature: 100 points are available. The ROL
should continue the problem focus and provide increased detail
related to the significance of the social issue.
It should be written in your own words, with an occasional
direct quote allowed, with support from authors found in the

6. professional research literature.
It should be concise, objective, focused, to the point without
unnecessary words and phrases, written in third person and
devoid of personal opinion, value judgments and subjectivity.
References from the literature should come from recognized
professional journals or recognized online sources and be cited
according to APA writing style.
It should be organized in 4 sections: nature and extent of the
problem, consequences, causes, and solutions.
It must make the argument that the chosen social issue is,
indeed, an issue of significance.
Clear, concise writing is really important in the first three
headings of the Mandatory Outline. Do not put "creative",
“informational” writing in these technical, scholarly parts of the
paper. Creative writing is including non-contributing words and
phrases that weaken the focus of the paper and cause the reader
to have to process emotional or distracting commentary. It is
called "fluff." Rewrites are expected to reflect my feedback
from previous versions. If you paper does not then I will
assume that you have decided not to consider my feedback.
This is entirely up to your disgression.
4. Findings: 40 points available. This heading should contain
a summary of the findings in from the research for your ROL as
well as the observations from your volunteer efforts related to
the topic. You may also add information about your agency
here, if you wish, or create a new heading. Third person writing
is not required.
5. Integration of Course Concepts: 80 points available. This
heading, or a related heading where you have included the
discussion of the course concepts, should contain your

7. discussion of how the course concepts, all of them, present
themselves in your volunteer work or your agency activities.
6. Citations in the body of your paper as well as in your
Reference Page must follow APA guidelines.
7. The Integrative Paper should be 8--10 pages in length and
have seven to ten professional journal references.
Mimi-Lecture for week 13
Welcome to Week 13
You have worked pretty hard on the first three headings in the
mandatory outline. Thanks for the thoughtful work and time you
have devoted to these parts of the paper. It has not been easy
trying to understand the feedback I have given. Don't give up.
We are almost there. This week it is time to tweak the
Introduction, Statement of the Problem, the ROL, and begin to
put the paper together. So send me your final revisions and
make changes to insert the parts into your paper.
You recognize that competent writing requires rewrites and
lots of tweaking. It is a deliberate process and not easily
accomplished without some really focused effort.
Now as you begin to put our paper together, your rough draft
is a starting point. Hopefully, you will find the time to put the
needed effort into your paper over the next two weeks. I am
genuinely hoping that the result is a very clear demonstration
that you see a related social issue connected to your volunteer
work and that you have been able to see your volunteer work
strengthening your agency's effort to impact a significant social
issue.

8. I hope you will also be able to articulate (identify and
discuss their application) how the course concepts to your
volunteer experience and your social issue. Feel free to send me
a draft copy of your paper but don't wait until the last minute to
send it to me. There are too many if they all come together in
week 15 or 16.
You may continue to work on your Integrative paper from
now through week 16. However, be mindful of other
assignments and activities that occur each week.
It is very important that you to do some genuine reflecting on
making a difference in your volunteer work. You can record
this in your journals as well as upcoming assignments. Please
really reflect on what you are feeling and thinking about the
specifics of your experience. You have had the opportunity to
thoughtfully look at a number of readings that approach
community service from multiple perspectives: the value to
you; the value to the people you serve; the value to your
community; the value to the agency. The reflecting and writing
assignment for this week should be very reflective and similar
to the way you write your journals as well.
Please remember that some assignments are to be deposited
on your web site during the upcoming weeks.
Best wishes. I am pleased that you are taking an interest in
helping others and your community. Keep up the good work.
Dr. S