Are your evenings and weekend consumed by various kids activities and play dates?
Is your conversation with fellow parents always about “how many after school activities your child is signed up for” ?
If you are feeling exhausted with these activities, you are not alone.
As many as 13% of parents surveyed were having a feeling of burn-out at least once a week.
Similarly, the number of over scheduled kids feeling burned out are steadily rising.
Although extra curricular activities are important for your child, there are risk of over scheduling your child.
Look at these 5 signs of over scheduled child and how to avoid burn out.
Is your child enjoying the activity?
Is your child doing an activity out of her own interest or because you thought this skill will look good on her resume in future.
Is it always struggle to get your child to their activities?
Are activities creating stress for your child?
If answer to any of these questions is YES, then you should re-think about the activity.
If over scheduled, at some point child might completely loose interest in the activity that she once enjoyed.
Is your child getting time to relax?
Even if your child is enjoying the activities, it is important that she gets atleast 20 minutes of leisurely time every day just to unwind and relax.
If your concern is that free time is becoming screen time, there are many hobbies like gardening, painting, baking that you can get your kid involved at home .
Do not underestimate benefits of free form play time in physical health and emotional well being of your child.
Not having a free time to relax creates stress and adds to exhaustion and emotional issues for the child.
Also Read: How to avoid technology addiction for kids
Is your family getting bonding time?
Is your family running around in different directions trying to meet the activity schedules and missing out on precious family bonding time ?
For healthy balance, family should be spending daily 15-20 minutes having dinner together or just hanging out together.
If you are not able to find this bonding time, then think of which activities you can let go.
Is your family’s well being is taken care of?
Average 20% of meals in America are eaten in car and average 25% of the meals are fast food.
Cooking a meal together with kids or getting kids involved in doing daily chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry etc) will help to make the family bonding stronger.
Along with family time, it will can also improve family’s health and well being.
Is your child equipped with basic life skills(age appropriate)?
It is important to consider which activities are really adding long term value in your child’s life.
It concerns me when child is lacking age-appropriate basic life skills and yet getting shuttled around for activities just because they might look good on resume.
Leave free time in schedule and help child build up basic life skills.
Hope these questions will make you think about your family’s after school activity commitments and help bring balance to your family’s daily life and well-being.
