Some of your natural tendency to want to overschedule your kids most likely comes from the training you had as a kid. You may have been told about the dangers of idleness being the “devil’s workshop” or something of the like.
It’s understandable.
As a conscientious parent, you just want to make sure you’re stimulating your child’s mind, keeping them busy, and ensuring their future. After all, that’s what you were taught and what society pushes. But, unfortunately, because of this, you might be like most parents and accidentally or on purpose, overschedule your kids.
With all the after-school activities, playdates, and sleepovers, it’s easy to overfill your child’s calendar. But you may not realize that all this over-scheduling negatively impacts your kids, which is what you don’t want.
Here are a few ways that overscheduling can negatively impact kids:
They get burned out too.
When kids are too busy, even if it’s fun things, they will eventually get tired and burned out. When this happens, they may start to resent all the activities they’re involved in and may even start to rebel.
They also get stress and anxiety.
Constantly being on the go can be stressful for kids. They may feel they can’t keep up or are always behind – leading to anxiety. The reason is that stress releases the hormone cortisol, creating a storm inside the body that worsens and worsens if not controlled.
They need more family time.
Family time can be challenging if your kids are always busy with activities. This can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Instead, your children need family time, such as dinners together and doing fun things at least a couple of times a week to feel centered in their family.
They may miss out on important milestones.
If your kids are always busy, they may miss important milestones like learning to ride a bike or going to their first school dance. However, their future getting into a good college is not more important than now. All those milestones are also vital for your children to feel happy right now today.
It may negatively impact their grades.
Their grades may suffer if they constantly juggle school and extracurricular activities. This is because they may not have enough time to complete their homework or study for tests. In addition, most kids don’t have time to read for school, much less time to read for fun, and both types of reading lead to higher grades and a better understanding of the world.
If you’re concerned that you may be overscheduling your kids, take a step back and reevaluate their schedule. Work with your children to make a list of priorities in their life so you can help them choose activities wisely. Then, ensure they’re only involved in activities that they enjoy and have enough downtime to relax and recharge. If you still decide to over-schedule your child, be sure to monitor them closely and ensure they can still handle the additional activities and responsibilities.