Along with the new school year usually their comes, a very busy schedule. Kids have their homework to get done in addition to all of the extra curricular activities that they want to participate in. As parents we often focus on keeping our kids as busy as possible. Unfortunately we fail to realize that their can be consequences with too many activities, such as exhaustion. Below you will find five ways that you can avoid overbooking your child’s school year.
Make a list
You can start by making a list of all the activities that your child is interested in doing. Make sure that the items on the list are reasonable ones. This should be done for each of your children. Most kids will probably start off with a pretty long list. Your job as the parent is to focus on cutting down the list. Have your kids pick which items on the list is the most important to them.
One activity per season
Try focusing on one activity per child, per season. The activity that you choose, should be one that you can fit into your families weekly schedule. Keep in mind that this may mean that some of your child may not have an activity every season. This may not be a bad thing, since it will help you find the balance between each child.
Don’t over scheduled one day
Avoid over scheduling your day with too many activities. If your children sign up for a variety of activities try to make sure that they do not sign up for all the activities in one day. Doing this will definitely overload your schedule. Look at your own personal schedule, and see if it is better to schedule some activities for the weekend, instead of during the week if possible.
Make more time for family
Believe it or not making more time for family, can also help you to avoid over scheduling your day. Your children many not find this to be beneficial at first, but they will in the long run. In many cases making time to sit, and eat as a family and cancelling some of the after after school activities can bring a lot more joy to your children than you may think.
Help each child create a personal schedule
Helping your child learn to properly schedule their time, can help them to avoid over scheduling their day. This way they will still be able to get everything that they want done, without feeling pressured, or stressed out.