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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm going ask a real question here to those who are ok with overscheduling, what do you define as overscheduling?  Where is the line for you, or do you not think overscheduling is real?[/quote]

Has anyone on here said they are ok with OVER scheduling?  I don't recall that, or if so, it's a tiny minority.

I'm ok with ES kids participating in structured activities, even several a week.  And even something like a travel sport in ES, absolutely.  I think unstructured kid-led playtime is important, so if my kid wasn't getting some of that each week, a child of mine would be over scheduled.  But no, it does not need to be for hours and hours every week day afternoon.  I think sleep is obviously important, so if my child were physically exhausted, they would be over scheduled for my taste.  School work always comes first, but we are at a very low homework ES (I like it that way), so this is not currently an issue.  I'm not so concerned with having intentional time built into their schedule for them to "be bored".  When my kids have alone downtime they usually choose to read a book; I'm not going to take the book away so they can be bored.  I let them take a book to a doctor's office waiting room too.

I'm not a busybody, so I trust that most families know what is the right amount for their child.  And, hint: it has ZERO to with whether their child is available to hang out with your kid at a random time your kid is free.  
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I have a kid in elementary school, middle and high school. I grew up in a very affluent neighborhood in NY and now live in an affluent neighborhood in the DMV. DH and I are both high achievers and almost everyone we know is also a high achiever.

I personally don’t think a child is overscheduled unless the kid is pushed into too many activities or practices that the kid does not want to do it. If the child enjoys said activities and is happy, I don’t think it is anyone’s business on what another family or child is doing.

I have one kid who is a tennis player. He has played tennis since he was in preschool. He loves it. He used to hit tennis balls against our garage door. He probably started with 1 clinic per week at age 5. Then he did 2x per week around age 8. By 10, he played 3-4x per week. He has always played other sports also like soccer. We started sending him to better training camps and academies around the DMV. We are on the lesser end of pushing tennis. Everyone at my son’s level plays A LOT more. They may train 3-6 hours per day.

Over the years, my kid has tried many different extracurricular activities. He also is very creative. What he is not is a kid who wants to roam the neighborhood. He is somewhat of an introvert. He seems busy with reading or building or doing schoolwork when he isn’t at tennis or his other many activities. He has friends who swim, play ice hockey, play lacrosse, baseball, etc and they are almost also always at some sort of practice or game. They still find time to hang out.[/quote]

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