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• Kids Must Sleep Or Pay The Price

  This morning my kid wanted to come with me to my other job (teaching exercise bootcamps--it's basically the opposite of blogging) so I got her up at 5:30 a.m. and off we went. Of course last night she stayed up a little late so my sister could read her two chapters of her latest Lemony Snicket book. And I think the night before that we had family movie screening, so it was a late-ish bedtime. I mean, she has an approximate bedtime, but then there's stuff we wanna do, and when some family members get home late and want to spend some quality moments together, we flex it some, and our morning rising time isn't totally consistent... But what harm can all that do?  Turns out, a hell of a lot. I must tell you I read countless studies and articles on studies and parenting blah blah every day, but this piece from New York magazine is possibly the first to motivate me to dramatically change my priorities. Read More... Posted Oct 09 2007, 08:32 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: research study, school, depression, sleep deprivation, bedtime ritual, overscheduling kids, routine

• The Overscheduled Child an Urban Myth?

  Are kids really over-scheduled these days? Or are they secretly just sitting around eating chips and watching the tube?  According to a recent study in Social Policy Report, kids are busy not because their overweaning, over-involved parents are pushing them to get into Oxford but because they prefer to be involved in lots of different activities. Further debunking the myth of the over-scheduled child, the study found that kids today are participating in "only about five hours of organized activities per week and an astonishing 40 percent participating in none at all." So which is it? And which are yours? I live in a land of "Free to Be You and Me" where we wake up late and follow the day where it takes us. I've always assumed we were the exception rather than the rule. Posted Jul 09 2007, 01:13 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: tv, kids and television, overscheduling kids

• Screw the Schedules and Just Let Your Kids Play

  I am so over schedules. Maybe that's because it's summer time and just this week, three parents have asked me what I'm doing to get my two-year old into kindergarten. Or maybe I should blame it on all the over-scheduled toddlers I see who who are scooped up by prompt mommies from the sandbox so they don't miss gymnastics class like they did last week when someone had the sniffles (kids...such easy targets). Most likely, it's pure laziness. But what I want for my son this summer is as much of a lack of schedule as the kid can handle. Don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning nap or regular snack times. After all, I advocate more freedom in the summer, including freedom from insane toddler screaming frenzy hell over the fact his sandals are blue or we're out of cheese. And I love taking my boy to classes, just one at a time, and preferably the kind you drop into are penalized for when there's the occasional gloriously long nap or need to protest another group-sing of Walkin' Old Joe. Outside of those things, though, I am worrying less about strict bedtimes and a plan for each day. I'm letting it go. Read More... Posted Jul 03 2007, 06:57 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: summer activities, overscheduling kids

• Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents Says Scrapes and Scratches Good For Kids, and They Should Know

  One of my favorite parenting blogs recently pointed out that "it's pretty amazing to hear a government official -- even across the pond" say that "by scraping knees, grazing elbows and getting bruises, children learn 'valuable lifelong lessons' that will help them to avoid more serious injuries in later life."   I couldn't agree more - it is amazing!  In an age where helicopter parenting and over-scheduling are rampant, people need to hear that "children can learn valuable lifelong lessons, particularly about risks and how to deal with them, from playing in the natural environment, and that parents have to accept that their children may get injured. Bumps, bruises and grazes are not serious injuries and are part of growing up.”  Read More... Posted Jun 15 2007, 09:09 AM by Alisyn with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: helicopter parents, parents babble, benign neglect, bumps and bruises, overscheduling kids, royal society for the prevention of accidents, childhood, kids get hurt