Today I want to talk to everyone about how, for children, learning is really not about having more. Especially when it comes to extracurricular classes and tutoring, these are simply double killers for parents' wallets and children's childhoods! I will try to write it in a funny way while teaching everyone how to judge whether it's worth it, to avoid falling into the trap of "the more, the better."

First of all, when it comes to extracurricular classes, this is truly a "required course" for modern parents. Don't believe it? Go to any shopping mall on the weekend and take a look; the streets are filled with parents dragging their children to extracurricular classes, all looking like they are participating in an Olympic sprint. Violin, ballet, painting, taekwondo, piano, programming... the list is so long that you might doubt whether you lived your childhood in vain. I have a friend whose son is five years old and has already signed up for seven extracurricular classes, claiming to be "fully developed." What’s the result? The child is always crying, saying, "Mommy, I don’t want to learn," and my friend says, "How can you not learn? How will you compete with others in the future?" In the end, both the child and the mother "competed" their way to a psychologist, truly achieving "full development"—even their mental state collapsed.

The trap of extracurricular classes is that they give parents a false impression: as long as I let my child learn more, they will become a genius. Hey, wake up! Genius is not something that can be bought with money! Some extracurricular classes are even packaged to look shiny, claiming to "develop potential" and "enhance competitiveness," but in reality, it’s just a group of children sitting there while the teacher teaches half-heartedly, leaving the children confused. I once accompanied my child to a trial class for a so-called "creative painting class," and the teacher just gave you a piece of paper and a few crayons, saying "be free to create." I thought, I can do this at home with my child, why pay five hundred dollars a month? Another time, I signed up for a "science experiment class," thinking there would be some high-tech stuff, but it turned out to be a lesson on how to make a "volcano eruption" with baking soda and vinegar. Hey, I can find a tutorial on YouTube for free, why should I pay you to teach it?

Tutoring classes are even more ridiculous. In the past, tutoring was a lifeline; you only went if your grades were poor. But now? Tutoring has become a "preventive measure," as if not tutoring would lead to "bad learning." I have a neighbor whose daughter is in second grade and is already in the top three of her class, but she still has to take four subjects: Chinese, English, Math, and General Knowledge. I asked her, "Why does she need to take so many?" She replied, "I’m afraid she can’t keep up!" Can’t keep up? Please, she’s already ahead; do you want her to cross the finish line with a rocket launcher? As a result, the child has tutoring until nine o'clock every night, comes home with dark circles under her eyes, and the next day at school, she’s yawning all the time. These parents are not helping their children learn; they are teaching their children how to "struggle like a trapped beast"!

The core issue of the tutoring myth is that parents think "more learning = winning at the starting line." But have you ever thought that a child's starting line is not a suitcase filled with your expectations, but their curiosity and happiness? One time I asked my child, "Do you want to learn more math?" She seriously replied, "Mommy, I’d rather learn how to tell stories to a dog." I laughed so hard, thinking this might be more meaningful than learning ten equations. With so many tutoring classes, children are not learning knowledge; they are learning how to "endure." You tell me, what use will this "endurance" have in the future? Unless you want them to grow up to be an overtime workaholic, otherwise, it’s really a waste of time.

So how can parents judge whether it’s worth it? It’s actually very simple, but many people are unwilling to do it—observe your child! Are they really interested in that thing? One time I asked my child, "Do you want to learn to dance?" She said, "Yes! But I want to dance the zombie dance from Minecraft." I laughed until I almost cried, but at least I knew she was interested in dancing, just not the ballet I imagined. In the end, we danced the zombie dance at home for half an hour, and she was so happy that I saved a few hundred dollars on class fees. The key is to see if she truly enjoys it, rather than forcing her to learn something just because you think "this seems useful."

The second tip is that trial classes are your good friends. Don’t rush to sign a one-year contract just because you hear "limited-time offer"; you only know the truth after trying! I once took my child to a "robot programming class," which advertised "cultivating tech talents from a young age," but during the trial class, I found out that the so-called programming was just building LEGO and attaching a motor, and the teacher didn’t even know how to pronounce the letter "c" in "code." I told my child, "You can build this at home, why pay for it?" She nodded in agreement and said, "Why not use this money to buy LEGO?" See, even kids understand this logic; why don’t parents understand?

The third tip is to ask yourself: Am I doing this for my child to learn, or for my own vanity? Have you ever boasted to someone, saying, "Oh, my son has learned three musical instruments and has a black belt in karate"? If so, congratulations, you may have fallen into the "vanity trap." I have a friend whose daughter has been learning piano for two years, but every time she performs, she plays "Two Tigers." I asked her, "Why doesn’t she learn some new songs?" She said, "No, the teacher said she hasn’t reached the level yet." Two years and still not at the level? You might as well let her play the electronic keyboard at home! I’m not saying learning an instrument is bad, but if you sign up for classes just to tell others "my child is learning," that money is better spent on buying a trophy engraved with "Best Parent."

The fourth tip is to calculate the time and money costs. Extracurricular classes and tutoring are not free lunches; a month can easily cost several thousand dollars, not to mention the time spent on pick-up and drop-off and the mental exhaustion on the child. I have a friend who said, "I spent four thousand dollars a month on classes for my child, but her grades are about the same as before." I told her, "Four thousand dollars! You might as well take her on a trip; at least she’ll be happier and have memories." She thought about it and agreed, and the next month she canceled half of the classes, and her child immediately became a happy little one. You tell me, whether it’s worth it is not about how much the child has learned, but whether they are happy.

Finally, let me teach you a secret: playing with your child is better than ten extracurricular classes! I once tried making a cake at home with my child, and the kitchen ended up looking like a battlefield, but she learned how to measure ingredients, how to mix, and "why too much sugar makes it taste like spit." These are things that textbooks and extracurricular classes can’t teach. Another time, I was kicking a ball with her in the park, and she asked, "Mommy, why does the ball roll so far?" I immediately shared some physics knowledge with her, and she said, "Wow, that’s so fun!" You see, knowledge doesn’t have to come from the classroom; life is the best teacher.

After saying all this, I really want to say that for children, learning is truly not about having more. Extracurricular classes and tutoring are like some "sweet treats"; if you have too much, not only is it not nutritious, but it will also spoil children's appetites. As parents, you don’t have to force them to learn everything; the most important thing is that they are happy and healthy. What do you think? If next time you want to sign up for a class, why not first ask your child, "Do you want to learn?" If they answer, "I want to learn how to fight monsters," you’ll know they might just want to play with you more. Take back some time and money, and accompany them in fighting monsters; at least both of you will laugh more.