Question: School is just around the corner or may already have begun for many children. Would you remind parents not to overschedule their children in too many activities so they lose out on playtime.- For Play
Answer: Be careful not to overschedule your children. If they are too busy after school and on weekends, they might not have enough time to do a good job on their homework and might not even have sufficient time to sleep.
Before signing your children up for an activity, it is very important to discover whether or not the activity really appeals to them. Even if you have your heart set on their playing basketball, don't sign them up for the sport unless they want to play. They can always try the sport later on. And do watch the number of activities in which your children participate. In fact, the National Association of Elementary School Principals recommends one activity at a time and that the activity meet only once or twice a week.
If you really want your child to experience several different activities, the elementary principals recommend going with the seasons. For example: soccer in the fall, art classes in the winter, tennis in the spring and theater workshops in the summer.
Keep in mind that you want extracurricular activities to be enjoyable for your children without a lot of excess pressure. You certainly don't want them to become stressed from doing something that is supposed to be fun. Try to find coaches and teachers that are not overcompetitive and understand the importance of children just having fun.
Remember, your young children need to have some totally unstructured time every day so that they can relax and do what they want. Encourage them, however, to use some of this time to interact with friends rather than just viewing television, playing video games, or using the computer. It's not good for children to become couch potatoes.
As your children go on into middle school and high school, it remains important to exercise moderation in the number of activities in which they participate. All children need some free time to just hang out.