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

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

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[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]

No, it would just be nice for kids to be able to see and play with their friends in an unorganized way, and not just constant organized activities.  It has nothing to do with free babysitting and not being able to entertain your kids.[/quote]

Yes, thank you. And my kid also takes cello and a sport. But he also has lots of downtime which I kept open so he can play and take risks and figure things out with other kids. It's turning out most of that play is by himself because kids are at activtiies 5x/week plus weekend sports. [/quote]

You might also consider that a lot of families (at least in my experience) don't really do weekday playdates even if their kid doesn't have a scheduled activity that day (i.e., even if their kid is not over scheduled).  Like what I see a lot is kids might have a structured activity three weekday afternoons a week, two weekdays a week are rest/down time/ learn to entertain yourself days, and weekends are filled with playdates, playgrounds, and other unstructured friend time.  That's how some families get a balance of all three -- each of which are beneficial to kids in different ways.

One benefit of structured activities that I will just tout is that they often provide a safe, low-stakes arena to struggle and fail.  Where are your kids actually experiencing the power of productive struggle and bouncing back from failure?[/quote]

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