BellaOnline Forums Family Adolescence Hyperscheduling our kids

Is there such a thing as hyperscheduling our children's time with too many activities? Are we doing them a disservice by limiting their unstructured downtime?

I have to say that there definitely is. Between our fears of allowing our children outside to play on their own without supervision and our desire to have "super" children who excel at everything and whose sole purpose is to fill out a good college resume, we have lost down time as a priority as a culture. This makes for children who do not know how to occupy their own time. Many don't have hobbies or become frustrated, depressed and anxious easily when they are alone or don't have specific instructions on how to do something. And imagination seems to have gone by the wayside as well. Some of my best childhood experiences were had alone or with a group of unsuprivised friends exploring the neighborhood. We learned about life and science created up games and stories. Much of this I have integrated into my own adult life and I can't imagine the person I would be without it. On the other hand, I have bought into the fear myself with my own child and struggle to find the balance between letting her do her own thing and making sure she is "safe" and "successful".

I completely agree with your assessment of the missing imagination in many of our young people. I watch my own step-son and he seems to be incapable of occupying himself without the aid of some sort of electronic media for more than 10 minutes.