With today’s busy lifestyles and two-career families, it can be difficult to ensure that children get the positive experiences they need to build a healthy and rewarding schedule of activities. This is especially true during the after-school time-frame, when parents may still be working and not available to spend quality time with their kids. Television and video games can end up being a pastime of choice.

Now, parents have an option. An after-school program in the Burlington, Oakville and Milton areas, called Kicks for Kids, will pick up the kids from school, make sure they have snack time, get their homework done, and have them participate in their choice of martial arts, dance, music, or drama training. The program was developed by Shawn Trickett (who also serves as president and head instructor of Kicks For Kids) and a team of Certified Black Belt Martial Arts Instructors and registered, practicing, school teachers.

“We pick children up at their schools in our own fleet of buses and vans, and transport them to our facilities. There are protocols and police checks in place for our drivers to make sure the kids are safe,” Trickett said. “They have their snack time and homework time, and then head into a structured martial arts class.”

The after-school program is first and foremost a structured martial arts program so, instead of sitting on the couch, kids are taught martial arts techniques by qualified world-class Team Canada and Olympic carded instructors. Imagine, no more ‘Moms’ Taxi’!! Kids arrive home with snack time, schoolwork, and lessons completed, and are then available to have dinner and spend quality time with their families.

During the program, kids are taught bully-proofing, self-defence and personal safety awareness, as well as the curriculum, philosophy and discipline of a structured martial arts school. For those who are not martial arts inclined, there are dance, music and drama programs available. Regardless of which program they choose, children will reap the benefits of character development and leadership encouragement.

A health benefit is increased physical activity. “Obesity is a problem and we want the kids to be very, very active so they do physical activity for at least an hour to an hour and half each day, which is three to five times the training they would get if they were enrolled in a normal, weekly, Martial Arts program.” Trickett said.

Kicks for Kids has also entered cyber-space. Not only will they be supervised and taught useful life skills, but family and parents can also check up via a web link to actually see their children in real –time.

“We broadcast our classes live via the Internet,” Trickett added. “Parents get special passcodes so they can watch their kids and it’s blossomed beyond that to where grandparents and family members in other countries are actually logging in and watching our students as they train!”

That leaves a lot less for parents to worry about, and everyone could all use a little bit of that! For more information visit www.kicksforkids.ca or email them at info@kicksforkids.ca