Pediatricians should be required to discuss the benefits of activities and sports to parents of preteens and teenagers. Teenagers involved in sports and afterschool activities are less likely to engage in self-destructive behavior. Teenagers who are not involved in sports and other extracurricular activities have more free time, often unsupervised, which leads to experimentation. Sports and extracurricular activities provide structure for teenagers even in their spare time. When children have productive activities outside of school such as sports they learn valuable lessons. These lessons include, teamwork, accountability, sportsmanship, and that hard work pays off. The participation in sports minimizes free time and forges friendships with teenagers with less time or opportunity to engage in self-destructive experimentation.
Teenagers with excessive free time after school often experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sex. I did not participate in extracurricular activities after school. Mostly because my parents worked late and I lived in a rural area about 25 minutes from school, without reliable transportation to and from practices. Therefore, I did engage in self-destructive behavior. With the combination of extra free time and minimal parental supervision poor decisions were inevitable. I was, however, insulated from some of the negative influences because I did live farther away from school and my friends. Without transportation, my exposure was limited. Every teen should try a sport, a club, a church youth group, a language class, or anything that reinforces structure and positive friendships. Teenagers by their very nature go through many transitions, from their bodies to their personalities. Excessive free time, limited structure and bad influences are recipes for self-destructive behavior, and pediatricians should do their part in encouraging parents to limit this free time.
Notes:
-Remember to use only one type of evidence. You are not required to use the same type of evidence in this example, but be sure to choose only one type.
-Remember to also include a paragraph that discusses how one might use a specific fallacy in building this argument.