Overscheduling: How Much Activity is Too Much?
by Jennifer Jordan
Sports, dance, music, art, karate, Kumon, gymnastics, drama. Today’s varied opportunities for afterschool programs are wonderful, and yet, they can be overwhelming.
For the past few years, child development experts have been discussing the idea that we are overscheduling our children with activities, to the detriment of their creativity and in some cases, their health. How can we determine whether multiple afterschool activities are enriching our children or exhausting them?
In 2010, family psychiatrist Dr. Janet Taylor appeared on NBC’s Today show to discuss the effects of overscheduling children. She noted that too many activities can take an emotional and physical toll on the entire family leading to overtired kids who do not have enough time for homework and parents who tend to feel not only the stress of ferreting multiple children multiple places, but who may also feel a financial burden to support these endeavors.
Taylor commented that kids who do not have sufficient downtime after school and on weekends are failing to connect with their families, and with their own creativity. They have limited opportunities to engage in self-discovery. When these kids do have free time, they do not know how to entertain themselves and become bored easily.
Yet, parents want their children to experience all the options–they feel that they are failing their children if they do not expose them to everything available. According to child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., author of The Over-scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap, it is the philosophy of 21st Century parenting to desire everything for our children because we live fast-track lives ourselves. The result is that, “in our efforts to produce Renaissance children who are competitive in all areas, we squelch creativity,” states Diane Ehrensaft, Ph.D., a developmental and clinical psychologist and professor at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California.
There is also the other side of the coin. How can parents help children discover their interests without trying several programs first? Busy schedules can produce positive benefits–studies show that well-rounded children who participate in multiple activities learn how to manage their time, how to engage in teamwork and with different personalities, and how to strive for personal success. These are traits all parents want their children to develop. There is also concern that many kids engage in too much downtime–hours spent in front of television and video games instead of creative playtime.
What is the solution? Janet Taylor recommends listening and looking for your children’s cues to determine if they are overwhelmed with afterschool activity. Do they seem tired and miserable? Do they complain about attending practices and meetings? Ask whether kids like what they are doing. Encourage and support what they love. If they dread an activity, cut it.
Taylor also suggests reducing ten percent of the family’s activities and schedule downtime just as you would a set activity. The key is to find a balance between structured activities and downtime. We all know how fleeting childhood really is–a few free evenings a week to connect with our children and let them just be kids will never be regretted.
