Why Gurgaon’s superkids take five-six extra classes per week after school

"If I say that my kids do not go for any extra-curricular activities after school, then I’ll be the only one saying that in my group,” Richa Singh, a resident of Sector 47 in Gurgaon, tells us. Her kids attend three different classes throughout the week after school – their coaching classes, tennis sessions and guitar classes. If you think that attending three different classes along with regular school is too much, then you’ll be surprised to know that kids in the city attend as many as five-six extra classes throughout the week. And with the summer vacations approaching, parents are enrolling their kids into more classes. Parents in the city tell us that sending their kids for extra-curricular classes is not only for ‘competition’ but also because of the kids’ growing interest in differen things.
Navya Rao and Sidhant Rao at their golf class. Parents in Gurgaon are enrolling their kids into so many extra-curricular classes so that they are busy learning something new instead of sitting in front of the TV for long hours

Five classes, but who is complaining?
Neha Yadav, a resident of Shivaji Nagar, tells us that her husband wanted their kids to learn sports so they play golf, and since she is interested in art and craft, she sends them for a fine arts class. “My kids attend five classes daily right after their school. They get home by 1:15pm and after that, they leave for their Maths tuition, which gets over by 4.30pm. After that, from 6.30-10pm, they have their golf, fine arts, swimming and abacus classes. The idea is for them to explore different things and enjoy whatever they like. My husband likes sports, so we wanted them to learn a sport, and I like art and craft, so they learn fine arts as well. But they are not doing these classes only because of us. They also have interests in these classes,” she points out.
The parents agree that it is also important that their kid is interested in the classes he/she is going for. “My kid is ten and he attends four classes. On Sundays, he has his handwriting class, and he goes for his Hindi class on Thursdays. He has chess class on Friday and on Wednesdays, he has piano class. We pay class-wise – for his group classes, the amount is `450 per class and for individual classes, the amount is `800 per class. He picked all these classes for himself. He is going for Hindi classes because Tamil is his mother tongue, and he’s learning chess because his friends play it. My son is very keen on learning to play the piano, so that is also something that he joined himself. Handwriting is the only class that we have put him into,” says Neela Kaushik, founder, GurgaonMoms and a resident of Sector 54.

Along with Hindi tuition, Aditya Kaushik attends handwriting, chess and piano classes

‘Schools are doing enough but a kid cannot get formal training in a half-hour class’
While the parents agree that the schools have enough extra-curricular activities for their kids, they say that children cannot get a formal training during just one physical education class. Padma Swaroopa,who lives on Sohna Road, explains, “Schools do a lot, but it is not enough for the kids to actually specialise in a craft. If a kid is interested in music, then the kid cannotNaavya Rao at her golf classspecialise in that by attending only one class in his/her school timetable. As parents, it is our responsibility to give them that training. My daughter is in the sixth grade and she attends three more classes along with her Maths and Science tuitions. Her day starts at 7.30am and she comes back home around 4pm. She has her tuitions from 4.30-5.30 pm. Then she goes out to play from 5:30-7pm. From 7.30pm, one day, she has her music class and on the other, she has her basketball and karate classes. She goes for karate from 8-10pm, because she likes to do it and we think that we should encourage her to do whatever she likes to do.”

Naavya Rao at her golf class

Neha Seth, a resident of DLF Phase 4, adds, “My daughter is only five, so I send her for swimming class because this is the best time to learn swimming. She is fond of dancing, so that is one class that she goes for. She also likes to do art and craft so instead of sending her to any class, we both sit together daily for some time so that she can put her imagination to use. I think parents usually enroll their kids for classes that they think would be good for their kids, but it is important to know what the kid is interested in learning.”

Amol Srivastav teaching basketball to Aditya Srivastav and Srida Moukyika. These kids attend as many as five extra-curricular classes

‘Kids should not spend their free time only on iPads’
Parents say the reason why they send their kids to so many classes is because they don’t want their kids to spend most of their time on iPads or in front of the TV. Trishi Vaid, a resident of Sector 52, tells us that her son does not take any extra academic classes since he is only six-and-a-half years old. “In these summer vacations, we are thinking of sending our son to learn either casio or guitar. We are also thinking of skating or swimming classes as an option. Kids should spend their time doing something constructive – they should not spend all of their free time sitting in front of the television. That is also one of the reasons for sending them to these classes,” adds Trishi.
Richa Singh, who lives in Sector 47, concludes by saying, “These classes have become part of our lives now, and one of the reasons is also because of the pressure and competition among parents. It has become more of a fad now.”