Children grow up in a society that demands expertise in everything. You really cannot sit back and decide that learning from textbooks is enough for the overall development of your child. It's the age of specialization and your child cannot afford to miss out on this window of opportunity. So, scour your locality for the most advantageous programs and enroll them for the ones you think are the best. After school programs are basically designed to develop a talent or a skill that is ignored by regular schools. These programs could be educational or recreational in nature. Whatever type they are, they basically aim to keep the child active and interested.