games / sports
Is your child too busy? WRITTEN BY: Lydia Correa-Gonzalez
K
ids today are really never given the opportunity to get bored. They are always on the go. Parents are being led to believe that the more activities their child is involved in, the better it will be for their future development. So much for the idea of childhood being a time of carefree, child centered fun! Clearly kids have too much to do and not enough time to do it. As
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kiddos | June • July 2014
parents we must focus on whether this is what our children truly want or if we are pushing them too hard to keep up with their peers. The key question is “Why are kids so busy?� For some families kids may be engaging in too many activities in order not to feel left out. In others, parents might feel it is more productive to keep their children occupied rather than leaving
them free time to learn and explore on their own. Most parents want what is best for their kids and, although their intentions might be in the right place, their children can easily become over scheduled. This pressure to participate can be very stressful for both parents and kids alike. The key is to find a balance that will ensure that neither parents nor children are overwhelmed.