Is Your Child Too Busy? The Pitfalls of a Constantly Busy Child

Parents today are stretched very thin at times. With work, social demands, and so much more pulling at the strings of parents, it may be a good idea to keep a child busy. But that poses problems as well. Children that are too “busy”, could very well lose a part of childhood that lets them build self-esteem, self-reliance, and even confidence. There are some pitfalls to doing too much as a child, and many parents are finding out the hard way. Instead of going overboard, consider a few notes on why you should balance a child’s activities to allow them some down time from the grind of everyday life.

Play Time Is Diminished

One of the biggest hurdles of the ever-busy child is that they don’t have play time. You may not think that this could be productive, but it’s very important for a young person. As a child grows up, they use this time to use their imagination and creativity. They do this to ensure that they are dealing with a variety of positive elements overall. They create environments and structures that help their brains develop. Even if you think it’s a waste of time, to them, it’s a grand element that is full of wonder. Encouraging children to imagine, and be creative in play time is a great way to build personality constructs and more.

Friendship and Social Time Suffers

Friendships take time to build. Creating long lasting friendships is a great thing for a child. However, if they are constantly busy, moving in and out of classes, going to extract curricular activities, and never allowed to have down time to play with others, they may have a void in communication. You want to allow your child to flourish socially, and that is done by letting them have some time away from the serious nature of some of the activities they may be involved with. Building relationships that last start at youth and develop in time.

Growing Up Resentful

Adults that have busy childhoods, often end up resenting their upbringing. They cite things like, not being able to be a kid, or not being allowed to have a bit of fun. These things way heavy on the minds of millions of people, and through therapy they can be helped. Professionals, however, agree that when raising children, they should be left to have some fun, downtime, and use their imagination to create lavish worlds and more. Suffice to say, kids should have time to be “kids” sometimes.

The Building Blocks of Tenacity – Helping Kids Develop A Stick To It Attitude

Parents admittedly would love to raise children that have a “get to it” attitude. The notion that they should stick to things and not quit when things get hard is a good thing. Sometimes it’s a struggle to get a child to get to that place. You may wish it upon them, you can even make sure to provide ample energy, but it’s not cut and dry. There are some building blocks that need to be put in place for this to manifest, and it starts with simple steps. There is no “secret” formula here, it’s going to take time, but at least you can know what steps help the process.

Don’t Be Quick To Help

Here’s the worst thing you can do for your child, and it’s to jump in and save the day every time. When children know that their parents will bail them out of difficult issues, they will rely so much on it, they won’t try. It’s tough to ignore that parental element that wants to baby, and coddle children as they grow. Ignore it, or you’ll have to deal with teenagers and adults that expect a bail out at every turn. There’s a fine line here, so you’ll have to toe it a bit.

Don’t Let Them Quit

When your child joins something, don’t let them quit too easily. This becomes especially true for lessons, sports, and anything else that takes on practice. They may hate it at first, they may even want to quit outright, but it’s imperative that you let others instruct your children. Let them guide them into how to master something new, and they will appreciate you and their teachers for it. Again, you have to monitor when it’s time to allow one to quit, because there are situations that call for it. But outside of specific issues, don’t let them quit things too easily.

Instruct Them To Bounce Back
The fundamental cornerstone for tenacity is here. You need to instruct your children to bounce back after failure. They may face off against a number of issues. They may fall, skid their knee, or even fail a test. Don’t let them dwell on it, but rather accept it, and help them recover and triumph. Failure is a part of life, and if you can teach children that it’s normal to fail, you’ll be doing a good service. But this only works if you show them the triumph of bouncing back. There’s a give and take here, so don’t just accept failure and leave it alone. Accept failures, but move forward to triumph and overcoming the odds after the fact.