Review your child’s schedule to maintain a healthy balance

It’s natural to want to structure your child’s life so she’s on a path to success. But if almost every minute of your child’s waking hours is scheduled with schoolwork, chores or extra-curricular activities, your child is overscheduled.

Overscheduled children become exhausted and overwhelmed. They get anxious, discouraged and ultimately unmotivated.

To be healthy and happy, every child needs some downtime. Time just to be, reflect and imagine.

To ensure your child isn’t overscheduled:

• Help your child select one or two structured activities that match her unique interests and abilities.
• Schedule one to two hours of free time a day for your child. Make sure she has access to art supplies, games, books, garden tools, etc.
• Expect some boredom. Boredom can motivate kids to listen to their inner voice. They tinker, write, draw and create.
• Never let school become secondary to extra-curricular activities. Make sure your child mustn’t stay up late to finish homework. Remember, elementary-age kids need 10 to 11 hours of sleep a day.
• Plan for “unrushed family time.” Have days that are completely open to just putter around the house and yard together. Listen to music. Take a walk. Do anything you both enjoy that has no goal.

Reprinted with permission from the October 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Beth Wilson Saavedra, Creating Balance in Your Child’s Life, ISBN: 0-8092-2875-0 (Contemporary Books/McGraw-Hill, 1-877-833-5524, www.mcgraw-hill.com).