Two recent studies offer somewhat contradictory advice on the importance of free play vs. structured activities for kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says:
Free and unstructured play is healthy and—in fact—essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient. . . . The report reaffirms that the most valuable and useful character traits that will prepare children for success come not from extracurricular or academic commitments, but from a firm grounding in parental love, role modeling and guidance.
On the other hand, a study by researchers at Yale University finds that:
Children who take part in organised activities benefit developmentally. They are healthier, judging from their academic performance and indicators of psychological and emotional wellbeing and self-esteem, as well as from their use of cigarettes, alcohol and drugs, and their parent-child relationships. . . . Our findings contradict and challenge the concern and popular belief about “over-scheduling”, which has been made popular by a few parenting books and the media itself, which would lead one to expect that the majority of children are participating in an excessive amount of activities. That’s not the case.
(Thanks to Blogging Baby for the tip.)
The two studies are not completely at odds, though. The AAP report urges extracurricular activities, like the Yale study, though it argues more strongly for balancing them with free play. They recommend “Supporting an appropriately challenging academic schedule for each child with a balance of extracurricular activities,” but caution, “This should be based on each child’s unique needs and not on competitive community standards or need to gain college admissions.” They also suggest:
- Emphasizing the benefits of “true toys”, such as blocks and dolls, in which children use their imagination fully over passive toys that require limited imagination; [As Amy writes at Mothertalkers, however, kids often have their own ideas of what they want to play with.]
- Helping parents evaluate claims by marketers and advertisers about products or interventions designed to produce “super-children;”
- Encouraging parents to understand that each young person does not need to excel in multiple areas to be considered successful or prepared to compete in the real world;
- Suggesting families choose childcare and early education programs that meet children’s social and emotional developmental needs as well as academic preparedness.
For more advice, you can visit the AAP’s Resiliency Web site, which has information on stress reduction and management for children and teens.
Whether over-scheduling is in fact a problem among America’s youth remains an open question. (It’s also unclear whether the Yale researchers controlled their results for income and parental employment. I would hypothesize that kids who do more activities come from families that can afford them and have the time to chauffeur them. Wealthier families are more likely to include college-educated parents, which could distort the impact of activities on academic results.)
My take on it is that there’s no magic number of activities that will ensure a child is well rounded, academically and socially adept, and yet not stressed. Much depends on the child’s temperment and interests. I think it’s important for younger children to try a bunch of different activities, but to focus as they get older on what they most like, and develop one or two areas of real competence. Much also depends on the parents’ schedules and whether there are siblings in the picture. Parents who get stressed themselves trying to bring three kids to soccer, band, karate, theater, and piano practice, all at different ends of town, are likely to pass that stress on to their kids.
I’m not doing anyone any good, either, if I get too stressed about contradictory parenting advice. It’s good to know both sides of the issue, but it’s better to know my own child and family and what works for us.
