Play Time/Quiet Time:

It is so important for children to have quiet time that I would even suggest the lack of it has had a negative physical and mental affect on our children. Without quiet time, children become over stimulated. It becomes difficult for them to manage simple daily routine such as sitting at the table during mealtime or being able to relax in preparation for bedtime. They lack the patience to appreciate the natural setting around them.

When a child has everything scheduled in their life they are unable to accommodate change. With a full schedule of school, sports and play activities being planned for them starting at an early age, the child is actually deprived of making choices, taking time to think out situations and allowing time to relax.

The daily activity they do experience, such as video games and television, take up most of what little free time they do have. These activities are geared to stimulate rather than relax the child. During these activities they become accustomed to snacking which leads to weight gain. Without incentive to spend time out in the fresh air and getting proper exercise, it further adds to their inability to wind down and take a break from a hectic schedule.

Taking into consideration that a family with two or three children of different ages will have to shuffle schedules, there needs to be limits on the number of activities in which the children can become involved. The parents also have schedules and must find the time for their own activities. It is unfair to the children and to the parents to commit themselves to such an unrealistic pace that nobody has time to devote to quiet time for reading, taking a nap, or simply having some quiet family time together working on puzzles, or learning to care for a pet.

In the fast paced world in which our children are growing up they are missing a great deal of the childhood life that is rightfully theirs. They are encouraged to stay indoors in the winter rather than bundle up and go outside to play in the snow. In summer, they are encouraged to stay in the air conditioned house rather than go riding bikes or playing tennis. We need to give them credit for knowing when they should come in from the cold or the heat. This is part of making decisions for themselves rather than having a schedule to manipulate them through the day.

Children are born with imagination and should be allowed to exercise it to the best of their ability. Instead of everything in their lives being planned from hour to hour, they should be left to invent their own activities and interests. The child that is bored is the child that has never had an opportunity to experience the wonder of their own imagination nor have they learned that relaxation is renewal for the body and the mind.

Learn more about this author, Donna Marie Gray.
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