Are the lives of children today too hectic?
It’s a common concern of parents these days and, to a lesser extent, of grandparents too, that our kids do too much. With the plethora of extra-curricular activities available, the longer school hours and sporting and academic expectations, the idea of the “over scheduled” child is increasingly common. Children as young as three months old can be enrolled in “learn to swim” lessons while toddlers from 18 months can start attending soccer and dance. The sheer volume of activities and interests available to kids is larger than ever before and there’s plenty of talk in the media about it being to the detriment of a child’s health and wellbeing.
A study published in December 2015 by the Pew Research Centre asked this question of 1807 parents and the findings were surprising. Fewer than one in six parents believe that their children’s day-to-day schedules are “too hectic/demanding”. Among upper-income level parents, the belief is slightly more common, with one in five thinking that it is the case but concerns about bullying, drugs, violence and mental health and wellbeing far outweighed any fears of over-scheduling.
The study identified that the biggest determiner of what parents worried about was socio-economic status. While parents at all income levels worried about things like drugs and alcohol, bullying and violence inside and outside of school, parents from lower socio-economic brackets were more pronounced in their concerns, especially about violence. The researchers linked this to the likelihood that lower income families would live in less than desirable neighbourhood. This was reflected in the statistics that found that one-third of parents with an annual income on the low to very-low scale rated their neighbourhood as a “fair” or “poor” place to raise a family.
What does all this show? While there is no doubt that kids today are presented with the opportunity to “pack their schedules” to the brim, parents are worried about the same thing that parents 40 years ago most likely worried about; the safety and wellbeing of their child in their day to day lives.
Related links:
Why we shouldn’t praise clever kids and start celebrating effort
5 things you should not say when disciplining kids