The Overscheduled Child
Carol Raines Drummond, Ph.D.

cdrummond@mindspring.com

(404) 760-0020

Fencing? Ballet? Lacrosse? Scouts? Violin lessons?  Living in Atlanta provides children with a rich variety of activities, which makes it so important to avoid over scheduling them. Everyone needs down-time to relax and unwind, and imaginary play and just hanging out with friends should be an essential part of every child’s life. That is not to say organized activities aren’t also important, but just be vigilant to not overdo. Below are some tips you may find helpful:

• There is no magical number of activities that are optimum for a child at a certain age. Many factors come into play including the age and temperament of the child, family demands, geographic factors, and financial resources. 
   
• Decide together which activities to pursue. Once a child has made a commitment to a team, they should continue to participate until the end of the season. Responsibility and loyalty to friends are important lessons to be learned early. Time management and prioritizing are also important lessons for children to learn in order to be autonomous in middle and high school.
   
• Be vigilant for signs that your child is overscheduled. These may include a drop in grades or teacher report of uncompleted assignments, sleep or eating problems, or psychosomatic symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches. Be especially aware if these symptoms occurring on a regular basis just prior to a certain activity.
   
• Don’t succumb to peer pressure to enroll your child in every activity that comes along. Childhood is a time to sample a wide variety of activities, but in a sequential, not simultaneous, manner. Be cautious to not replay your childhood dreams by living them out through your child’s activities. Just because you may have wanted to be, or may have been, an All-Star baseball player, that may not be in your child’s future. Allow each child to follow their own passions.
   
• If you child loses interest in an activity, know that they may very well return to that activity at a later date, especially if they don’t feel parental pressure to do so. 
   
• Make sure that you build in down time for your children to play with friends in an unstructured way. A recent AJC article addressed the importance of family dinners. If you find that you are spending all your spare time in the car, perhaps it is time to cut out some structured activities and replace them with free play and family time. Enjoy your children now – they grow up all too quickly!

Reprinted with permission from Trinity School.