Is it okay for me to prohibit my child from an after-school activity?

Is it okay for me to prohibit my child from an after-school activity?

Harvey Hoyo (President, California School Counselors Association) gives expert video advice on: Why should I encourage my child to do after-school activities?; Should I encourage a balance of physical and academic after-school activities?; Should I ever pressure my child to join an after-school activity? and more...

If you feel that the activity is not safe, then it is totally appropriate to forbid you child from an after school activity. If you feel the after school activity will cause trauma, or the after school activity is more involved, perhaps at a skill level that is higher than what your youngster is capable of, it is possible to prohibit the child from it. My suggestion would be to have a communication with whoever's sponsoring the after school activity, to find out if that would be appropriate, or where your child can fit into that after school activity, because often the monitor of the after school activity can reformat some of those activities to deal with your child's needs. That's not a problem, it's just the awareness of that problem. So I would take that first step before you ban an after school activity. In general, if the activity isn't safe, it wouldn't be offered at the school site.