NationStates Jolt Archive

My daughter (4) asked for a dayplanner. It seems her friend "Tabby" has one. I called to ask her mom (Tabby's) about it, I thought maybe just maybe they weren't talking about the same dayplanner that I have. They were.

It seems that "Tabby" has such a busy schedule that she needs a day planner.

Monday-ballet
Tuesday- Karate
Wednesday- violin
Thursday- cheerleading
Friday- Tee ball
Saturday- swimming lessons
Sunday- church, choir, AWANAS
all of that in addition to school....

now don't get me wrong, my kid has a schedule but it isn't nearly so tightly packed
Wednesday- band practice
Saturday- movie time
Sunday- church, choir, AWANAS
and of course school

I informed "Tabby's" mom that my kid didn't do all that stuff and she said "if you don't keep her busy she'll end up on drugs"

how busy is too busy? won't she get burned out if she has every second of everyday planned?

article (http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/01/022601-3.html)

what do you think?

What's

"AWANAS"?

What's

"AWANAS"?
sorry AWANAS (http://www.awana.org/)

sorry AWANAS (http://www.awana.org/)
1-800 DIAL-A-JESUS? :confused:

She'll get burned out and your daughter will emerge victorious since her life isn't so ruled by her parents.


And eh...no matter what you get your kid into...they'll be exposed to SOMETHING SOMEHOW.


I mean, I'm in waterpolo, a lot of my teammates talk about parties they had the other day and how drunk they were. This is a school sport mind you...

She's not even 10 and her mother is worrying about drugs now? :eek:

She's not even 10 and her mother is worrying about drugs now? :eek:
Yeah I looked back on that. Jesus, the girl's bloody 4 years old. At 4 I just did pre-school and I'm turning out just fine.

*twitch*

4 year old crack addicts? 7 year old crime lords? sounds like something i wrote for school...

Yeah I looked back on that. Jesus, the girl's bloody 4 years old. At 4 I just did pre-school and I'm turning out just fine.

*twitch*
When I was four I was worried about my block tower falling over and why the voices yelled at me.

She's not even 10 and her mother is worrying about drugs now? :eek:
yeah she said something else too about getting her used to keeping a schedule so that when she is in the business world blah blah blah

I am in favor of letting my kid be a kid.

I know a lot of parents though that have similar schedules for thier kids.

I know someone who has her 3 month old in 4 different classes.

I seriously don't get it.

they are trying to raise superkids or something, I mean my kids are doing fine without all that crap....

She's not even 10 and her mother is worrying about drugs now? :eek:

I know. I wait until at least my kid is 12 before I begin forcing them to smoke some pot

*da-dum*

yeah she said something else too about getting her used to keeping a schedule so that when she is in the business world blah blah blah

I am in favor of letting my kid be a kid.

I know a lot of parents though that have similar schedules for thier kids.

I know someone who has her 3 month old in 4 different classes.

I seriously don't get it.

they are trying to raise superkids or something, I mean my kids are doing fine without all that crap....What, what, what four classes?! :eek:
It's alright to encourage your kids, but give them some breathing room.

Gymboree (http://www.playandmusic.com/b2c/customer/category.jsp?dept=0)
a massage class, a "play group" (yeah right at 3 months they just lay there) and an exercise class.

crazy mom. She thinks I am a bad mom because I let my kids have 2 hours of TV a week and movie time on saturdays.

I know many kids who do way too many things. What I dont know is any kids whose parents force them to do way too many things. The kids do too many things because they want to do too many things and the parents dont stop them. I dont get why everyone here has been assuming that the parents make the kids do all these things. Isnt it just as likely that the kid is interested in all these things and asks to do them all and the parent doesnt know how to say no? Yes, the parent shares in the "blame" (if you want to look at it as something negative), but not because they put their kid in so many things, they share in the blame because they dont learn to say no and force their kids to choose which activities they want to do most and which can be sacrificed. It isnt the parents who have a schedule for the kids, its the kids who insist on signing up for everything they see.

I know many kids who do way too many things. What I dont know is any kids whose parents force them to do way too many things. The kids do too many things because they want to do too many things and the parents dont stop them. I dont get why everyone here has been assuming that the parents make the kids do all these things. Isnt it just as likely that the kid is interested in all these things and asks to do them all and the parent doesnt know how to say no? Yes, the parent shares in the "blame" (if you want to look at it as something negative), but not because they put their kid in so many things, they share in the blame because they dont learn to say no and force their kids to choose which activities they want to do most and which can be sacrificed. It isnt the parents who have a schedule for the kids, its the kids who insist on signing up for everything they see.
never really thought of it that way. My kids don't really ask to be signed up in much, I guess they value thier free time too much. I guess I was working from the point of veiw that if you start them out from birth hyperscheduled then it will just continue.

Gymboree (http://www.playandmusic.com/b2c/customer/category.jsp?dept=0)
a massage class, a "play group" (yeah right at 3 months they just lay there) and an exercise class.

crazy mom. She thinks I am a bad mom because I let my kids have 2 hours of TV a week and movie time on saturdays.
Wow--she'd absolutely freak about how I'm raising my daughter, but you know something? My daughter is 15, honor roll, state honor band, wants to attend a university I can't possibly afford and plans to get into it on her own, and only drinks when she's with me. I'd say I'm doing okay. :D

the overscheduled child is more likely to end up on drugs than a less pressured child from an equally "good" family. they burn out under the stress.

kids need time to be kids, to play without adults directing their every move, to figure out for themselves how to spend their time.

your 4 year old is in band?

the overscheduled child is more likely to end up on drugs than a less pressured child from an equally "good" family. they burn out under the stress.

kids need time to be kids, to play without adults directing their every move, to figure out for themselves how to spend their time.

your 4 year old is in band?


I agree, don't force your kids to take activities like band and ballad, unless they wish to.

the overscheduled child is more likely to end up on drugs than a less pressured child from an equally "good" family. they burn out under the stress.

kids need time to be kids, to play without adults directing their every move, to figure out for themselves how to spend their time.

your 4 year old is in band?
she started a band. She plays drums, her sister (2 year old) plays the guitar and I play bass (until she can find someone better who isn't like she said "so old")

i would be impressed with a 4 year old that wrote, remembered, or even knew what a ballad is.

she started a band. She plays drums, her sister (2 year old) plays the guitar and I play bass (until she can find someone better who isn't like she said "so old")
ohhh so its an "in house" thing?

thats cool.

ohhh so its an "in house" thing?

thats cool.
yeah. her sister can only play one chord but she is fine with that, but no mom is "too old" to be in the band

but how ya gonna play without a bass player ha she can't hahahahahaha :p

Nice band... better than most stuff on MTV it sounds like...

Nice band... better than most stuff on MTV it sounds like...
yeah my 4 year old is influenced heavily by The Ramones. (psst don't tell the other mom's at my church they would freak out lol)
she is really doing well on the drums if I could just teach the 2 year old 2 more chords we could be doing a lot better.
I guess I could open tune my fender and then she would only have to know 2 but then that would cancel out the one she already knows, so yeah, I sound like an evil mom now, but I swear they love it.*

*and yes I have heard the "I swear they love it" line from pagent moms too, but I am telling the truth..

yeah. her sister can only play one chord but she is fine with that, but no mom is "too old" to be in the band

but how ya gonna play without a bass player ha she can't hahahahahaha :p
youre a cool mom.

that these other mothers think there is something wrong with the way you are raising your girls is a sad commentary on their parenting.

4 year old crack addicts? 7 year old crime lords? sounds like something i wrote for school...
Actually it sounds a lot like the characters from Ranxerox.

I was raised on pre-school, playing w/ friends, and as much tv as i wanted. I think I turned out fine...oh and you're an awesome mom.

I was raised on pre-school, playing w/ friends, and as much tv as i wanted. I think I turned out fine...oh and you're an awesome mom.
ah but TV was higher quality then, it sucks now. besides I doubt you watched as much tv as the kids that I babysit are used to. (6 hours a day)

That's crazy. A 4 year old (any kid for that matter) on that much stuff.

My daughter is 4 and she only does 1 - 2 activities with school.

The woman needs to be on drugs if she thinks that will keep her daughter off drugs.

Last I heard they weren't shooting up at 4.

Balance, balance, balance.

Anything can be taken too far. There's such a thing as too many activities, and such a thing as not enough. There's such a thing as too much structure, and such a thing as not enough.

It seems crazy to me. Let kids be kids, right through high-school. Life is miserable enough for most people once they "grow-up" anyway, why deny people a childhood?

Though I don't have any kids, so, you know, you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.

(And let kids watch TV. All the people I know whose parents didn't let them watch TV when they were kids are all hopelessly enslaved to the tube now. On the other hand, my uber-recreant parents let me watch as much as I wanted, and I maybe watch two or three shows a week now that I am an adult - specifically battlestar galatica, and that ghost hunter show on sci-fi, because it is funny. I might watch the odd cheesy mini-series, once in a blue moon, too).