overscheduled kids

I have always railed against parents overscheduling their kids. Kids need time to be kids, I argued. They need time to run around. They should be out playing hide and go seek, not zipping from activity to activity.

But now my sixth grader is on the track team at his middle school, he's playing Little League and he's taking piano lessons. My fourth grader takes ballet three days a week (yes ballet), plays Little League and plays the piano. Add in homework and you have a recipe for stress for all of us.

We cheered my older son on when he wanted to join track because he never seems much interested in joining things. But now he's sometimes going from track to Little League (thank you Chauffer Mom) and barely getting a breath in between.

My younger one has been dancing since he was 6 and he's at a level where he has to go three days a week. He still loves dancing but by this time of the year, there's a lot of whining before we get to those dance lessons.

Even their beloved baseball, coached by their own Dad, can elicit groans. Sometimes they come back from baseball games complaining that they haven't played all day. "Baseball is playing," I say sternly. "If you think it's work, don't do it next year."

The good news is there's no time for computers or TV. They get plenty of time outdoors and all this activity makes them eat well and sleep well. The bad news is that down time has become a precious commodity for all of us. If there's a game or a track meet, we have to be there. Likewise baseball games, piano recitals. The ballet recital is a joy to watch but takes major coordinating of grandparents and relatives.

This is how our life is now. I'm resigned to that. But forget the moral high ground about overscheduled kids. Mea culpa. I'm as guilty as anyone.