Summary: Are our kids overscheduled? Compared to our own childhoods, definitely. But is that necessarily a problem? And how are we, as parents, supposed to tell?<br> According to Dr. Michael Thompson, author of <a href="http://amzn.to/2iEisyT">The Pressured Child:</a><br> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/fashion/over-scheduled-children-how-big-a-problem.html">There is a line between a highly enriched, interesting, growth-promoting childhood and an overscheduled childhood…. and nobody knows where that line is.</a><br> In this episode we are all about FINDING THAT LINE. We hash out<br> <br> * the<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203550604574360771531703210"> myth of the overscheduled child</a> (spoiler: it’s a myth)<br> * why even non-scheduled time needs to be— well— scheduled<br> * whether to let our kids decide how many extracurriculars they can handle<br> * how loving an activity, and being stressed out by its demands, aren’t mutually exclusive ideas<br> * how our overscheduled kids have costs for our marriages as well<br> * how to push back against the overscheduling creep: (rage, rage against the dawn of the travel sports)<br> * making a “priority pyramid” for your family<br> <br> As you’re finding that line between enriched and overscheduled for your own kids, here’s some links discussed in this episode plus more useful reading:<br> <a href="http://amzn.to/2jR6Shn">The Over-Scheduled Child</a>, the book that started the conversation 15 years ago<br> Pew Social Trends polling kids and parents on <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/5-childrens-extracurricular-activities/">extracurricular activities </a><br> Health America poll: 78% of kids wish they had <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060817005326/en/HealthAmerica-KidsHealth-Poll-Finds-Kids-Feel-Busy">more free time </a> (Amy says yeah, but they just want more Xbox)<br> Harvard School of Public Health poll: a shocking 26 percent of parents with high-school-age children who play sports <a href="http://media.npr.org/documents/2015/june/sportsandhealthpoll.pdf">hope their child will become a professional athlete</a> one day. (Margaret says these parents should Google the odds. Problem solved.)<br> <a href="http://amzn.to/2jR7802">168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think</a> by mom-of-four Laura Vanderkam, about making room for what you want your life to include (she’s on the overscheduled-as-myth side)<br> 9 ideas for <a href="http://www.becomingminimalist.com/more-family/">slowing down your family schedule</a>, from Joshua Becker<br> and our personal favorite: <a href="https://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/10-signs-your-parent-is-overscheduled/?action=click&contentCollection=Fashion%20%26%20Style&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article">Ten Signs Your Parent is Overscheduled</a>, by KJ Dell’Antonia for the NY Times. Chew on this nugget of truth:<br> <a href="https://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/10-signs-your-parent-is-overscheduled/?action=click&contentCollection=Fashion%20%26%20Style&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article">A schedule full of action is indeed cruel, overbearing and destructive to someone’s well-being: mine.</a><br> Are your kids (and their parents) hopelessly overscheduled? What, if anything, have you done to set boundaries? Tell us in the comments!<br> <br> <a title="Episode 8: Are Our Kids Overscheduled?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/2017/01/episode-eight-are-our-kids-overscheduled/"></a><br> <a title="Episode 8: Are Our Kids Overscheduled?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://plus.google.com/share?url=https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/2017/01/episode-eight-are-our-kids-overscheduled/"></a><br>
