Reply to What's wrong with a kid being "overscheduled"?

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "What's wrong with a kid being "overscheduled"?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Over scheduling is good for most American parents because if they had to quietly sit with their spouse and kids you know they would go crazy. [/quote]

None of this comes across as very genuine. Why do people care what other parents do with their spare time? It’s like the redshirting debate. They care because they fear their own kids are missing out, will be left behind in the dust, or that playmates can’t entertain their own bored kids giving them the downtime they, the parents want, but refuse to pay for or drive their kids to. Figure out how to entertain your bored kids without trying to drag everyone else down.[/quote]

It’s hard to give kids a normal childhood when all the other kids around them aren’t around. This is not about giving myself downtime. [/quote]

Everyone can make their own choices and that's what's happening, obviously. No one is trying to pass some kind of ban on kid activities. People are also pointing out that yes this impacts the overall vibe and feel of a neighborhood, whether kids are available for unplanned play, etc. That is true and the comparison to redshirting is apt - there are impacts on other kids.

I don't see why anyone is denying that. You can still make whatever decisions are best for your family. No one is forcing you to take this other stuff into account.[/quote]

It’s so obvious this faux concern was always about other people not knowing how to entertain their own kids and wanting free babysitting or entertianment. They are bragging that unscheduled kids are more creative and can handle boredom but that doesn’t really ring true. Just give your bored kids a book and move on. If another kid wants to dance or play the cello it’s not your business.[/quote]

It's genuinely fascinating to see someone who sees people wanting their kids to have unstructured play and thinks they're trying to score free babysitting. If can't imagine how you survive with such a dismal view of the world.[/quote]

DP.
On the contrary, I often [b]provide [/b]free babysitting to get that unstructured play time with friends. It’s still hard to come by, and I’m allowed to be sad about that,[/quote]

We're lucky to be in a neighborhood where this isn't an issue (things could change as they get older). Kids are outside whenever it's not cold and hanging out at each others houses when its not. No one looks on that as "babysitting." Sometimes the parents are outside with the kids, usually chatting among themselves, (especially parents of younger kids, we've got a pretty big age range), but everyone looks after their own kids or lets their kid go unsupervised if they're old enough. Even when the kids are in our house, it's not really work; they're just playing. The kids mostly manage to do an activity or two, but no one is scheduled more than a night or two a week. It's a nice balance.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics