The Case For Early Enrichment
“Soccer and play date Monday. Tuesday is harp lessons and French club, and Wednesday is chess club. Thursday is ballet. Friday…wait, I forgot Hebrew school.” My friend looks up from his Palm, from which he was reading his 5-year-old daughter’s after school schedule to me. By the end of the list I’ve forgotten most of it. While such a schedule may sound extreme or even unhealthy to some parents, a recent study has found that keeping kids busy has a positive impact on their academic and social development, and that higher levels of participation do not necessarily have adverse effects on their health. In the study, which was published in Social Policy Report, Yale psychologist Joseph Mahoney and colleagues looked at more than 2,000 5- to 18-year-olds to gauge how varying levels of participation in extracurricular activities such as sports and after school programs affected their emotional development and school performance. One of the main concerns of critics of “overscheduling” is that children often are pressured by adults into participating in too many activities, and that this can lead to unhappiness and exhaustion. However, the study found that most children say they participate in activities because they are interested in them, not because they feel pushed. In addition, young people only spend on average about 5 hours per week involved in organized activities, and while some are busy up to 20 hours per week, such high participation levels were not correlated with detrimental academic and social effects. “There has been way too much stress on the fact that kids are doing too much, when in reality 50% of kids are doing nothing,” says Jacquelynne Eccles, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study. Eccles added that in order to create a healthy lifestyle for children, parents need to refrain from placing too much pressure on their child’s performance level, and that parents and children need to communicate with each other to avoid stressful schedules. – Meredith McGroarty
The Case For Just Enough Enrichment
As parent counselors who have worked extensively with New York City families for 20 years, we have witnessed a dramatic and, as we see it, frightening escalation of the trend toward raising children with schedules as busy as those of any adult. We are not against activities. What we want is to give parents the support they need to challenge the trend of too much, too early. One part of the problem is that new parents especially have been misled to believe that the sooner they start classes, the more ahead of the game their child will be. New mothers often ask questions like, “What does she need to hear, see and experience for optimum development?” But here’s the thing: normal life itself provides plenty of stimulation for a baby – even if that means simply watching you fold the laundry or strolling down the aisle of the supermarket. Another way to help inspire parents to combat this pressure is to focus on what a child forfeits by being so scheduled. Unstructured time is a critically important element for healthy emotional and cognitive development. Children who are always pushed or encouraged to join planned activities do not get the chance to figure out who they are. Another pitfall to be aware of is when a child is a little older and shows a flicker of interest in an activity. A 4-year-old starts experimenting with the piano, and instantly he is signed up for lessons. In doing this, parents lose sight of the importance of letting the child’s interest develop on its own. Children vary widely in how much socialization and stimulation they want and need. In planning a menu of activities and classes for a child, here are some questions to consider: • Does my child really yearn for more, or am I reacting out of my own enthusiasm or desire to keep up with other parents? • Does my child frequently ask to just stay home and do nothing, even though once he is up and out he seems happy? • Does my child have time in his schedule for unstructured free play? • Is my child often overtired and irritable even if she is getting the right amount of sleep? • What is the effect of the child’s schedule on the family as a whole? – Jean Kunhardt and Lisa Spiegel , founders of Soho Parenting and co-authors of “A Mother’s Circle: An Intimate Dialogue on Becoming a Mother.”
