THE OVERSCHEDULED
CHILD HOW MANY AFTER-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ARE TOO MANY?
BY SANDI SCHWARTZ
W THE OVERSCHEDULED
CHILDHOOD CULTURE
In today’s competitive world, it’s
not uncommon for children to feel
overwhelmed and pressured because
of their overscheduled lives. Alvin
Rosenfeld, M.D., a child psychiatrist
and author of “The Over-Scheduled
Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting
Trap,” explains, “Enrolling children in
too many activities is a huge problem.

Parents feel like they aren’t doing
a good job if they don’t sign their
children up for a variety of activities
exposing them to sports, culture,
religion and everything else under
the sun starting at a young age.” But
then, “the children are under so much
pressure to compete with their peers
and achieve success,” says Rosenfeld.

WHAT DO WE SACRIFICE
WHEN WE OVERSCHEDULE
OUR CHILDREN?
Yes, we want our kids to socialize and
learn new skills. However, when we
overbook them, they suffer. Here are
just three aspects of our children’s
lives that get pushed aside when we
overschedule their days.

Voyagerix/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
hen was the last time your
children came home from
school and had a couple hours
to play freely in the backyard or go
out for a bike ride before starting on
homework? If your kids’ schedules
consist of multiple after-school
activities like dance classes, art school,
swim lessons, religious school, soccer
practices, volunteering and tutoring
sessions, then after school down time
might seem like a foreign concept. If
that’s the case, you might want to ask
yourself: Are my children
overscheduled? AfterSchoolActivities.indd 22
7/25/18 4:37 PM