To determine just how busy your child's schedule really is, you need to consider his age and his daily schedule.
Is your child too busy? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you are actually wondering whether your child is too busy, you may have reason for concern. To determine just how busy your child's schedule really is, you need to consider his age and his daily schedule. Obviously, there can be a world of difference between the activities of an elementary school aged child and a teenager. As a parent, however, it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is leading a well-rounded and happy childhood. What does all of this actually entail?
The media continuously offers advice to adults on how to deal with stress. What many parents don't realize, however, is that children are susceptible to stress, too. The difference is that they don't know how to recognize it, and they rely on their parents to regulate and monitor their lives.
The statistics are pretty daunting. Teenage pregnancies, dropout rates, teen suicide and depression are all on the rise. Obviously, the pressures that children face are great, and parents' sometimes unrealistic expectations may add to those pressures. While some activities are wonderful, parents need to pay attention to the signals their children may be inadvertently sending them.
Team sports, music and dance lessons, scouting troops, and other organized activities can teach children so many wonderful lessons. They learn how to work well with others. They set and reach for attainable goals. They win ribbons and trophies, which boost self-esteem, and they form lasting friendships with other young people. All of these are excellent reasons to fill your child's life with fun and educational extracurricular activities. The key word, however, is "fill".
Parents need to bring balance to their children's lives. If your child's day is filled with school, and her afternoon and evening hours are filled with lessons and practices, it may just be too much. Think back to when you were a child. What do you remember the most? Maybe it was long afternoons building that fort in the backyard. Maybe you played hide and seek until dark descended and the lightening bugs lit your way home. Do you remember the exhilarating feeling of the first day of summer vacation? The long weeks of sweet nothing awaited you? Now, consider this. Does your child have the opportunity to experience any of these feeling? If not, why not?
So often, parents are so concerned with making sure that their child is exposed to many extracurricular activities that they don't realize the frustrations this same child may come to feel. You need to ask yourself a few serious questions. Is the activity something you want your child to do, or is it something she actually wants to do? Does she experience enjoyment and look forward to the activity, or does she seem to resent it? Does she talk about it excitedly, or does she not refer to it very often? Is she always ready to go, or does she drag her feet or ask if she can skip a lesson or practice?
How much emphasis to you place on your child excelling in this activity? Does he feel frustration because he can't perform well enough? Does he seem depressed if he doesn't do well at a practice, lesson, or competition? Is your focus on your child being one of the best, or are you just glad your child is experiencing the activity? The answers to all of the questions will give you a good idea on just how beneficial your child's activities are to his life.
Extracurricular activities can be wonderful for your child. It is important, though, for your child to have free time to just be a child. Don't fill up her afternoons and nights with so many activities that she doesn't have time to just play and/or relax. Let your child experience some of the wonderful memories that you have from your childhood.
