I (36F) recently pulled my oldest child (5F) from most of her extra curricular activities. She was in swimming, dance, basketball and I had scheduled her to start piano lessons this fall. Instead I cut it down to just basketball. She seemed to enjoy this one the most and it happened to be the cheapest option. The move wasn't just for cost cutting but also for time growing. I feel less stressed as the constant running around and "rushiness" was really getting to me. Plus, I knew my other kid (3M) would be starting his activities soon and I would be even more stressed/time crunched. Now, instead of rushing through supper, running around the house trying to find the necessary items, we go at our own pace and enjoy our unscheduled family time. She has more fun and is getting all she needs at this point. For example, yesterday our walk/run in the woods was more fun and educational than anything else she has been in. I don't know how long I'll be able to swing this but I'm considering always restricting my kids' scheduled activities to the bare minimum to maintain the sanity in our household. The only downside is the occasional mom guilt but that quickly gets squashed when I realize how much happier we all are now. Will I be able to continue this as my kids get older?
October 11, 2017 at 05:37AM
