The Hidden Benefits of Unstructured Free Time

posted on Jul 18, 2024

Gurukul The School, a well-known top rating school in ghaziabad, believe every child should have some unstructured free time daily so that they can grow holistically at their own pace.

Remember your childhood days when you would return home from school and have the remaining day all to yourself? You had the privilege to play for hours outside with your friends or simply engage in activities you wanted with a specific time allotted for studying and finishing homework. Unfortunately, today’s children don’t have this facility. That’s probably because today’s age has far more competition than how it was a decade back. Owing to that, today’s children leave no stone unturned in bracing themselves with music, dance, tuition, swimming, drawing, and numerous other activities and skills to gain a competitive advantage. While the intention is good, this overbooking and excessive time structuring has been found to be robbing children of their free time.

We at Gurukul The School, a well-known top rating school in ghaziabad, believe every child should have some unstructured free time daily so that they can grow holistically at their own pace. It is so because only when they get to freely choose the activities they want to participate in and explore their environment without any rush, does their holistic development happen in the true sense of the term. We know that to many, it may seem like the kids are wasting time, but this is the time when they actually indulge in improving their creative, cognitive, physical, and emotional well-being. If you’re still skeptical about allowing unstructured free time to your kids and wondering what benefits they may get from it, the following points will help clear all your doubts.

• Sharpened Creative Abilities

Regardless of the academic field or profession your child picks, they will always need strong creative skills to stand out and thrive. So, if you’re looking for simple yet really effective ways to foster your child’s creative abilities, start giving them unstructured free time. This will enable them to direct their own play, guided by their imagination. For example, when you don’t instruct your kids what to do for an hour daily, they will begin engaging in their make-believe scenarios.

Some days, they may be tempted to transform a cardboard box into a spaceship, while on other days, they may create a small fort for themselves using cushions and blankets. As parents are not there directing them to the next steps, they also learn to solve problems they encounter during their unstructured free time. For instance, if their Lego tower keeps falling every time, they may brainstorm ways to prevent further falling. Such experiences enrich children with impressive creative and problem-solving skills.

• Improved Executive Function

According to us at Gurukul The School, executive function is one of the essential skills that every individual needs to succeed in academics, the professional world, and life in general. We are saying so because we have seen that kids with remarkable executive function showcase sharp, flexible thinking, self-control, and working memory, all of which eventually help them navigate every life situation.

You, as parents, can hone your child’s executive function by regularly giving them unstructured free time. When kids are left on their own, they learn how to set goals and work towards fulfilling them in the set timeline. For example, a kid may decide to finish a large puzzle or construct an entire city using Lego blocks before the approaching weekend. Now, it becomes the kid’s responsibility to design a finishing plan, execute tasks accordingly, and manage their time in the best way possible. Since unstructured free time is free from parents’ instructions, kids learn how to handle things independently, creating a ripple effect in all areas of their life.

• Reduced Stress Levels

While some adults may refuse to believe that kids can be stressed, the reality is quite jarring. The never-ending tuition classes, extracurricular activities, school homework, peer pressure to excel in every field, etc., can easily take a toll on children’s mental and emotional well-being, making them vulnerable to extreme stress levels. If your kids have ever reported being stressed in their daily lives, you must take proactive steps and offer them immediate assistance. The best way to naturally reduce their stress levels is by giving them plenty of unstructured free time.

Just like adults, kids also need unsupervised time to relax and recharge. Giving them unstructured free time will help them decompress from the extreme demands of daily life, letting them recoup from mental exhaustion and physical burnout. Moments of free time also allow kids to be present in the moment and experience the simplest of joy that rekindles their love for life. Such experiences can significantly lower their stress and anxiety levels, allowing them to excel naturally in all areas of life.

Conclusion

We at Gurukul The School, a top rating school in ghaziabad, have always promoted all round development of our students, and we firmly believe that it can only be achieved by letting kids engage in non-academic activities, too! While academic success is important, so is the cognitive, physical, and social success of every child. To that end, letting kids engage and experience activities they like and enjoy is non-negotiable for their healthy growth and development.

Hence, by means of this blog post today, we would like to encourage parents to start giving their kids regular unstructured free time so that they can grow and develop at their natural pace without feeling overburdened or drained. We know letting children decide for themselves can feel overwhelming initially, but you’ll become comfortable with it over a period. If you’re still feeling uneasy, consider joining parents-only online groups and look for parents in the same boat for constant guidance and support.