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Are You Over-Programming Your Young Child?

by Sherry Frewerd

With the busy lives that families lead today, it’s hard enough to find time to enjoy dinner together or spend even the simplest weekend as a family.  Not only do both parents work, but young children find themselves over-scheduled to the point of exhaustion.  Little kid’s days are spent running from preschool or play groups to several extra curricular activities that in previous decades didn’t become a regular activity until elementary school.

Daily scheduled activities that require little kids to be taxied from one place to another with little time to stop and eat can create what is known as an over-programmed child.  Yes, play groups and lessons can be fun and the children make friends and learn new things, but left unchecked, over-programming a child can actually slow down their emotional development.

Are you over-programming your young child by scheduling too many activities for them?  Are you taking them to too many lessons and group activities because you think they enjoy them or because you think it’s helpful for them and that’s what good parents do?  Dr. David Elkind, author of ‘The Hurried Child’ feels that early pushing of children has no known beneficial effects on a child’s future school performance, and may in fact produce adverse psychological attitudes toward learning.

What are some signs that your child may be experiencing over-programming and what can be done to remedy the problem?

First of all, look for the obvious sign of unwillingness to attend activities that your child may have previously enjoyed.  Secondly, is your little boy or girl getting enough sleep and are they grumpy upon waking?  Another tell-tale sign of over-programming in little kids is if your child exhibits behavior problems such as frequent temper tantrums when they used to be an easy going kid?

Often, parents are so over-extended time wise themselves that they fail to see the obvious warning signs that their child may be doing too much.  Unfortunately, many times the schedules become ingrained in the family plan, making it harder for parents to implement much needed changes.

For your young child’s sake, however, if you see any of the warning signs of over-programming, the first step toward fixing the problem is admitting that there is one and that changes must happen.  Sit down with your family and take a long look at which activities to stick with and which ones to end.  If your child is very young and not enjoying the event anyway, they’ll be less reluctant to give it up. Decide which extra curricular they truly enjoy, which is their favorite, and keep that one.

Young children who become over-programmed need more family time, time to just play and be little kids.  They’ll benefit greatly from learning to think for themselves rather than be told what to do and when to do it at every turn, and you’ll create bonds by increasing special family time.

Learn more about toddler behavior and find fun toddler play and learning activities at "Family Play and Learn" familyplayandlearn.com and ‘Toddler Learning Activities’ toddlerlearningactivities.blogspot.com