Hectic Schedules Don't Hurt Kids

New studies are showing that children aren't necessarily stressed out by their schedules as we all had worried they were. The first thing to recognize is that only a small minority of children are actually heavily scheduled. Secondly, organized activities are linked to positive outcomes in school, emotional development, family life and behavior. The children most at risk are those who have no activities at all.

So all the worry we parents have been having while trying to give our children every opportunity to expand their horizons has been for nought. Higher levels of activity do not lead to stress symptoms such as depression, anxiety, alienation and fearfulness. New studied show that more active children are NOT more stressed.

But before you go off and schedule more activities for your children, remember that the American Academy of Pediatrics warned in 2006 that a hurried lifestyle could create anxiety or contribute to depression for some children. Some experts feel that children do not get enough sleep or downtime to be creative and thoughtful.

Children who seem to fair the best have a more balanced approach: one or two activities, for less than four hours. One quarter of highly involved children do almost as well. Children with no activities are more withdrawn and socially immature with lower self-esteem. This has implications for those less fortunate who can not afford the fees to sign the children up for these activities.

Another thing to keep in mind as parents is that it is the pressure for achievement not the busy schedules that children seem to react negatively towards. Children do not want to be criticized by those adults who are most important in their lives. When parents pressure the child about sitting on the bench or not being the lead in the play then the activity ceases to be a source of pleasure and becomes a source of anxiety. I myself lived through this as I was the only girl on a boys' baseball team. As my dad kept track of my batting average and rewarded me with gifts to keep up the good performance (After all, I had to contribute. I didn't want to be a token girl. I wanted to compete with the boys as their equal), the game began to lose its enjoyment for me and I developed performance anxiety.

So let's give our children a break and provide moderate levels of activity where they can grow and flourish but remember to not make the highest level of achievement the goal. Let the activity in and of itself be the enjoyment. Children will flourish then as they learn teamwork, good sportsmanship, and other good qualities that will help them later in life.