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The over planned child is nothing new. The past two decades we’ve thrown our kids into so many activities that it’s left many a child with little free time. The criticism thus far has been that it negatively impacts kids.
But it’s not just the kids that find their heads spinning because they're either playing soccer, piano, singing, or at dance class. It’s the parents that are constantly hauling them from A to B or trying to find the extra cash to pay for whatever new activity the child just HAS to be a part of this month.
According to a story in The New York Times, this is exactly the case. The overbooked child is resulting in the financially strapped and seriously stressed parent.
The New York Times reports:
[E]ven if the money is not there, some parents find a way. I know people who have borrowed from family, used home equity accounts and run up their credit cards to pay for all the stuff they believe their children just cannot miss.
The financial stress is part of it but it’s also all the stress of joggling the child’s schedule and making sure that they get to all their planned activities.
Again, The New York Times:
“It’s easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful,” said Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University. But research doesn’t bear that out.
Too many activities can also serve to take away from family time which is even more important, according to the article. Time spent with the family is always better when there’s enough of it, and both kids and parents aren’t stressed out. Activity certainly has its place but it’s also important to make sure that both you and your kids are living a balanced life that’s not thrown off by all the extras.
Play time is also crucial. Kids learn to develop relationships and creativity. According to MyOptumHealth, “[p]lay helps with brain development, and helps with personal growth and discovery. Even occasional boredom can be a good thing. It gives a child the chance to daydream, imagine and create.”
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