Experts Say Many Of Today's Children Are Overscheduled

Overscheduled Children At Risk Of Burning Out

http://www.nbc4.com/news/6377759/detail.html 

 So what do you think?

I don't have any kids yet but hope to some day. I'm still told I'm a kid being 24.  My parents didn't push me to do sports like leagues but if I did sign up I had to do it for the whole season. But I was limited.  I personally found that keeping busy helped me a lot more then when I wasn't.  My grades improved during wrestling season and marching band season but slipped off during the spring when I wasn't doing as much. But I think that people are putting to much on their kids. I think it's bad that my 5 year old nephew has tighter schuedule  then I do and I'm a newspaper editor .

Excellent topic ma'am!

YES... not only are they at risk for burning out, but it really wipes out their ability to focus on training, in 'any' discipline.

It doesn't matter what activity we're talking here.  Kids need down time, just like we all do, to recoup and destress.

We had a girl in my last school, who was into soccer and a few other things, at the nice age of 12.  On top of this, is studying Taekwondo.  You could see it in her eyes, and you could see it in her mother's eyes as well.  They were without any doubt, burning the candle at both ends.

Workoholism, is simply bad ju-ju, no matter how you slice it.  Especially if it's induced by parents, or by virtue of self-infliction on the child's part.

In the case of this girl, the push was for black belt.  Her passion was really soccer, and by all accounts, she was pretty good at the sport and enjoyed it.  The only thing this nice young lady was missing, was a lettering on the back of her uniform.

"I'm on a parental deadline to make my black belt."

And I think we've all seen that student before. 

Life, by its nature, is designed to be well-balanced.  Some time for work, some time for play, some time for rest, some time for nourishment, some time for spirtual matters and some quality time with those we love.

If we fail to attend any of those needs..  we're not going to have a very happy life, and may even be setting ourselves up for a veritable train wreck. 

The real key IS to guard against that.  Not just in our own lives, but in teaching kids also, to manage their time in a balanced way.

I read something recently that strikes a chord...

"Life is not an emergency.  Don't make it one."

and...

"No matter how hard you work, or how long... when you die... your "IN" box will NOT be empty."  (A nice hint, to realize we're only here for a limited time... so to enjoy life and don't try to do everything as if we 'have' to 'finish' before we check out.)

The little girl mentioned in that story, sounds fine for now.  But that's going to be an issue where the mother is going to have to watch very closely.  And more to the point... she's gonna eventually have to pat her girl on the head and say, "You know what?  You've busted your hump really good... let's take a week off, put the 'schedule' on hold, and enjoy ourselves, and we'll hit it all again after that little 'vacation' you've so richly earned."

Sometimes the best thing we can do for each other, or a kid, is to just say, "Take a break.. you've earned it.  Great job!"

We have a student the fits the "over scheduled child" profile.  Nice enough young man, tall for his age, and all the kids looked up to him as he worked toward his Black Belt.  Mom and Dad had him signed up for basketball, baseball, soccer, drama, Tae Kwon Do, and helping his church out as an Alterboy.  The poor lad had very little downtime and started to suffer injuries to his feet, ankles, and legs.  I actually witnessed our Master have a very tough heart-to-heart w/ the young man's parents about cutting back on their son's activities.  My Master stated:
 
"W/ all that "little Johnny" is doing he will never excel at any one thing.  He may well be good at everything but he will never master anything.  With all the injuries your son is having, I strongly suggest that you limit his schedule.  Otherwise, he will continue to get injuries, he will not be able to get his Black Belt on schedule, he will not be able to play Basketball, Soccer, or Baseball with his injuries." 

Eventually, the parents made some changes but only after 2 broken toes, a broken bone in the foot, and several sprained ankles.  The young man has permanent, if slight, damage to his ligaments in his right ankle. 

I push my son to try different things (ie: he wants to try football this summer/fall) but his focus is on school work.  If he wants to do anything else, he must maintain his grades.  School work should be the focus for all kids (most MA schools insist on good grades) no matter what their extra curricular activities are.  Once the school work is done, then let the kid choose his outlet.  Kid's are not little adults who understand time management.  That's what High School and College is all about.  Learning to manage time and, as parents, we have a duty to assist our children.  Throwing a bunch of other activities on our children will give them a broad knowledge base but will burdon them w/ unwarranted pressure.