Are children over-scheduled?

[jared2]

Are children busier now than when you were a kid?

[Mystery Squid]

Thank goodness I wasn't brought up in Japan under such conditions...

I think parents that push their kids real hard when they're young are creating a time bomb. In almost all cases I've witnessed, these early high achievers end up imploding at some point later in life... Too many examples come to mind...

I remember when a teacher asked if I would join the track team, and I was like, "What? Cut into my nap and video game/hanging out time? No thanks...!"

[jared2]

I think Yataro is clearly a bit over-sheduled. However, the description of his routine is not that different from that of many children in the US. Piano lessons, soccer, play dates, lacrosse, elaborate birthday parties - I had no idea there was actually a "birthday party industry" until I had a son. On the other hand, a kid can be under-scheduled as well. Too much sitting in front of the TV. I am glad my 5 year old is learning piano - I am learning at the same time. The bass clef is a little tricky, isn't it?

I guess now we know how Toyota gets so many smart engineers.

"parents that push their kids real hard when they're young are creating a time bomb"

This seems to be the common reaction. However, I think you would find that most of these kids in Japan do very well.

[Mystery Squid]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Jun 12 2006, 12:02 PM) [snapback]269939[/snapback]</div>

This seems to be the common reaction. However, I think you would find that most of these kids in Japan do very well.
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Yeah, but "why?", and "for what?", are the REAL questions...

[jared2]

[Mystery Squid]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Jun 12 2006, 12:11 PM) [snapback]269942[/snapback]</div>

I would imagine the answer would be to maximize their intellegence and abilities in a highly competitive environment. Not a bad thing as long as it is not overdone. Question is, how much is too much?
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My question isn't how much is too, much, but rather why?


no, beyond that, why? intelligence is a pretty nebulous concept, and the ability to compete? have you ever asked yourself why? What does it mean to be successful? A *large* salary? The ability to sustain yourself on a most basic level? What cracks me up, is when I see parents pushing for the *success* of their child, which is totally fine, of course, with, ultimately, no real substantive reasoning other than to be "successful", whatever that might mean, typically, it's in terms of the "American Dream", nice house, kids, cars, money, to be patted on the head, and told you're smart, the envy of your peers, etc., etc., etc... ...and should the child ever attain this arbitrary measure of "success", then what? What's the ultimate point? Yes, I'm a freshman in highschool taking a differential equations course, I'm at the top of my class, my salary will be 450K a year, I'll live well and entertain myself until the grave...

[tbstout2]

Right on MysterySquid.

There are some kids, my daughter included, that just want to have childhoods. I know that my parents never pushed me to do stuff (there really wasn’t much to do back in the sixty’s) but yet I still received high-grades throughout my school years. I have the potential to make much more money than I do, but at what cost? A sixty-hour work week? Hell no! I’d rather have fun and relax while I can. I may not retire wealthy but I sure as hell will have few regrets.

On the other hand, I know parents whose kids WANT to be over-scheduled with 1) dance class four nights a week, 2) scouting, 3) martial arts. If they can handle the workload, and aren’t too stressed about it, then what the heck.

[jared2]

" What's the ultimate point?"

Who would have thought that MS was a closet hippy?
This debate was the height of fashion in the '60s and '70s but has since, like communism, fallen on hard times. Turned out that "back to the land" was not as attractive a proposition as many supposed. "Why should I work hard and be sucessful; why not just drop out and smoke dope?" A fairly sophomoric debate well suited to the hords of young boomers of which I was one. So, you see, I'm not exactly the liberal/hippy/"do your own thing, man", person that some might suppose. It is well known that yesterday's hippies became today's yuppies, the old VW having been traded in for a volvo (or a Prius.)

At the existential level, you are right; there is no "ultimate point." At a human level, however, I think a "happy" life requires some exertion, some development of skill. Ultimately, the meaningless of existence is not incorrect, just irrelevant. So, I think the question remains - what is a good balance between a child having too much structure and not enough? By the way, this would be a good question for a chat - what makes for a "happy" life? Any takers?

[Mystery Squid]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jared2 @ Jun 12 2006, 12:47 PM) [snapback]269970[/snapback]</div>

" What's the ultimate point?"

Who would have thought that MS was a closet hippy?
This debate was the height of fashion in the '60s and '70s but has since, like communism, fallen on hard times. Turned out that "back to the land" was not as attractive a proposition as many supposed. "Why should I work hard and be sucessful; why not just drop out and smoke dope?" A fairly sophomoric debate well suited to the hords of young boomers of which I was one. So, you see, I'm not exactly the liberal/hippy/do your own thing, man that some might suppose. It is well known that yesterday's hippies become today's yuppies, the old VW having been traded in for a volvo (or a Prius.)
[/b]

This is YOUR life baby, you've only got ONE shot at it, to not stop and give significant, meaningful thought to such things is to risk wasting your life by, perhaps, even more disturbingly, your own standards... To "gloss" over it becuase of "fashion" is oh so vain (pun intended )... ...at your expense, as vanity usually is... So please, go ahead and don't address what might be the most important thought process of your life, and end up, *smug* in the box... PA-THUMP! (sound of body tossed into empty pine box)...

This sort of thing should be part of the educational curriculum, where, I'm not sure, but somewhere between late grade school and high school graduation...

[jared2]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mystery Squid @ Jun 12 2006, 01:00 PM) [snapback]269978[/snapback]</div>

This is YOUR life baby, you've only got ONE shot at it, to not stop and give significant, meaningful thought to such things is to risk wasting your life by, perhaps, even more disturbingly, your own standards... To "gloss" over it becuase of "fashion" is oh so vain (pun intended )... ...at your expense, as vanity usually is... So please, go ahead and don't address what might be the most important thought process of your life, and end up, *smug* in the box... PA-THUMP! (sound of body tossed into empty pine box)...

This sort of thing should be part of the educational curriculum, where, I'm not sure, but somewhere between late grade school and high school graduation...
[/b]

Any other, more useful responses?