Hello Marl~
Unfortunately, there have been no true scholarly studies about
overscheduled children, and what few surveys have been conducted are
far from conclusive.
Possibly the best surveys were done by the University of Michigan.
These surveys, conducted in 1981 and 1997 found that the amount of
time children spent in organized activities grew substantially, while
their free time declined. A separate, national survey conducted in
1998 showed that only 25 percent of the average child's day is
unscheduled; in 1981, the figure was 40 percent. ("All Activities and
No Play Makes for Stressed-Out Kids Child," St. Louis Children's
Hospital, http://www.stlouischildrens.org/articles/media.asp?ID=64 )
In addition, a recent Gallup Poll found that 72 percent of moms felt
overscheduled. ("Red Baron Family Time Program, Gallup Survey," Red
Baron, www.redbaron.com/families_gallup.asp )
Yet if a child has too many planned activities, most experts agree
that the result is a bad thing. "This becomes 'over-programming' if
the child never has a chance to manage his or her time or if the child
does not really enjoy what he or she is doing," says Judy Myers-Walls,
an associate professor in child development and family studies at
Purdue University. ("Fast-Track Kids As Children Get More Structure,
Critics Debate How Much Is Too Much," Michael S. James, ABC News,
http://www.hyper-parenting.com/abcnews.htm )
"The problem of the overscheduled kid is so new that nobody's studying
it yet," says William Doherty, a professor of family social science at
the University of Minnesota. "This is a new problem on the radar
screen of researchers." ("You and Your Child's Schedule," Patrician
Wren, The Boston Globe, Nov. 2002,
http://www.lexisone.com/balancing/articles/b110102a.html )
According to the Boston Globe, the University of Michigan studies link
higher education level in mothers with the enrollment of their
children in far more extracurricular activities. "Whether it's because
they want their children to have every advantage, because they want to
reduce their guilt over working outside the home, or because
college-educated women tend to be more driven in general, researchers
say." ("You and Your Child's Schedule," Patrician Wren, The Boston
Globe, November 2002,
http://www.lexisone.com/balancing/articles/b110102a.html )
The rise in organized activities for children seems to have taken
place in the past two decades, as more and more women have begun
working outside the home. In the early 1980s, the number of college
graduates that were female were equal to males for the first time--and
the number of activities kids began participating in also soared.
"From 1981 to 1997, the amount of time children spent in art
activities grew by about 150 percent and sports by about 30 percent,
while the amount of time they spent visiting with friends went down 20
percent, according to Sandra Hofferth, a University of Maryland
sociologist who has also measured children's time allocation." So far,
studies indicate that the mother is pivotal in making scheduling her
child's time. Interestingly, if a mother found herself working an
addition 10 hours a week, her childrens' activities declined by about
40 percent. But if the father worked more often, there was no drop in
the chalderns' activities.
What little evidence there is suggests to some child development
experts that kids are becoming burnt out, cannot manage their own
schedules, lack creativity, and/or suffer identity crises and
breakdowns due to overscheduling.
Some experts feel that middle-class children, who are thought to be
more overscheduled than children of other classes, are more demanding,
more likely to verbally attack parents, and more difficult to impress.
Working-class and poor kids (who, presumably, aren't so overscheduled)
are more likely to have strong bonds with extended family, recognize
boundaries between kids and adults, and call adults by names like
"mister" or "miss."
"In the past few years I have seen a marked increase in children with
anxiety and depression," says therapist Kimberly Chastain
("Overscheduled Child," SheLovesGod.com,
http://www.shelovesgod.com/library/article.cfm?articleid=3419 ) Rob
Heffer, a Texas A&M University psychologist, adds, "A child who is
constantly involved in all types of structured activities may not have
the time to engage in important developmental activities such as
self-reflection and self-evaluation. The fact that our society values
an adult who knows who he is, where he's come from and where he's
going makes these developmental activities necessary. An overscheduled
child may not be as socially-skilled as the next kid because less time
exists for forming relationships through informal, unstructured
leisure time," ("Overscheduled Kids May Miss Out On Important Benefits
Of Free Time," AggieDaily,
http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/01/022601-3.html )
An Atlantic Monthly survey looked at kids born between 1979 and
1982--perhaps the first generation of kids who might be considered
overscheduled. The survey determined the children were “not
risk-takers and were very compliant;" they were also not shown to be
less creative, very much needing of structure, and liked scheduling
time to be with friends, instead of spontaneously “hanging out.” ("All
Work And Not Enough Play," Carolyn Campbell, Family Utah,
www.familyutah.com/burnout.asp )
Generally, psychologist agree that there are warning signs that every
parent should be aware of with relation to overscheduling. One is
chronic fatigue, especially in the morning and late evening. Another
is irritability on the part of the child when relating to his or her
family.
Here are a few other articles that may prove helpful:
Unscheduled Time:
http://family.go.com/raisingkids/child/skills/feature/dela99schedule/
The Overscheduled Child, from The Brown University Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Newsletter:
http://www.hyper-parenting.com/brownpaper.htm
Keywords Used:
studies overscheduled child*
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=studies+overscheduled+child*+&btnG=Google+Search
survey overscheduled child*
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=survey+overscheduled+child*+&btnG=Google+Search
"University of Michigan" overscheduled
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22University+of+Michigan%22+overscheduled&btnG=Google+Search |
,
0 Comments
)