by Tim Driver

Created on: June 20, 2010   Last Updated: July 19, 2010

Parents today are every bit as busy with scheduling the activities of their children as they are their own careers and social agendas. Kids today are busier than at any time in our culture's history, yet when not managed properly, this "business" can lead to frustration, burn out, and disappointment for all involved.  To avoid such unpleasant occurrences, here are some things to consider for parents who want to give their children a full, well-rounded childhood, without overdoing 

READY......RELEASE! -

Once a parent knows they can trust the safety of their child to the coach, music teacher, art instructor etc., releasing the child to that person and that activity is essential. This frees the parent from having to micro manage every detail. Kids should keep track of the schedule, events, and complications that arise naturally when participating in an activity. Parents can advise, but should let kids work out the details.

An additional positive that comes from this is that kids see exactly how much is required to be involved in something. It is easy for kids to want to be involved in 25 different activities when the parent is handling each and every issue, but when they are in charge of organizing their time and efforts, it teaches them to budget their time more accurately and effectively. Releasing your kids gives them more independence, a chance to take on responsibility, and the parent some relief from the details.

Learning this skill will also help kids academically to manage themselves as they move along in the educational process. Many a capable student has suffered academically simply by lacking the organization and planning skills necessary to succeed. While smart and talented,  some have had all of their organizing done for them, and simply have not had the practice.

PRIORITIZE PERSEVERANCE-

Making kids finish what they start is also a good way to keep over involvement in check. Some parents are slaves to signing their kids up for all kinds of activities, where they get "bored" or "tired" of the commitment involved and desire to quit or switch to something else.  Making kids finish what they start will cause them to think long and hard before they sign up for an activity. The one exception to this rule would be if their academic success was jeopardized. In this case parents should make it clear that the activity is being taken away because of the importance of education, and not because quitting is desirable.

Parents are freed from

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