School, Sports, Extracurricular Activities: How Much is too Much?
Run, run, run! It seems like that is all you do anymore. If you are not running to and from your own commitments you are running to and from your child’s commitments. The pace can seem overwhelming and exhaustion is never far behind. So, if you are feeling such pressure just getting your children to their activities, how are they feeling? How much is too much?
The pressures of being successful in today’s world can be heavy. Often times we want to expose our children to many different opportunities when they are young to help them determine what they would like to do when they grow. We also hope that being actively involved in sports and other activities will help them grow up to be happy, healthy adults.
While there is truth to this, it is important to know when your child is pushing him or herself too hard. While there is no one-size-fits-all way to determine how much a child can handle, there are some signs you should watch for as your child becomes more involved in school and other activities.
First, if your child starts to fall behind in their schoolwork you should assess their weekly schedule to see if their extracurricular activities may be affecting their grades. It is a problem if your child is so busy after school that they do not have time to do their homework or study for tests.
While you may be pushing your child to be involved in extracurricular activities to prepare them for college and scholarship applications, it is important to keep things in perspective (see Finding Scholarships for Your Child’s Education). Extracurricular activities round out these applications while academic achievements receive the bulk of attention from college and scholarship acceptance committees.
Second, if your child is fatigued, irritable or withdrawn from family time it is important to consider what is making them feel this way. Often times, it is a lack of sleep brought on by too much pressure in their day-to-day happenings. As a father, it is important to push your son or daughter to set high goals and achieve high standards of success, but if your child is not having fun and it is affecting his or her demeanor and outlook on life, you should seriously consider re-prioritizing.
Our children face a lot of pressure to be successful. Often times this leads our children to pursue perfection which leaves them stressed and burned out on life. As a father, it is important that your son or daughter know that your love for them is not contingent on their success. If your child does not always perform at peak levels, allow your child the space they need to be human.
If you determine that your son or daughter is involved in too many activities, sit down with them and talk about ways they can cut back on activities. You do not want this to feel like a punishment to your child, so provide your child with the freedom to choose what is most important to them. Have your child develop a list of priorities and then help your child manage their time to accomplish the things they really desire. Remember, the most important thing about childhood is being a child. Make sure your son or daughter enjoys the activities they are involved in and is able to come to you when they are feeling overwhelmed.
