Playtime for our kids-no matter their age

Crispies. Overstimulated children. Hover parents. These are just a few labels our generations has been given and phrases of which we have been charged. Are we really that bad? It seems we could be. And not just us but others who spend time with our children might be responsible too. I recently read in Time that play dates have lessened and homework has increased. This fact did not surprise me. Last year, my daughter spent four-and sometimes more-hours in her room doing homework. When I asked her teachers if there was a problem, for example a learning disability we had missed, I was told my daughter was a perfectionist. Well, that is true. However, when several other parents asked me about her homework load and I found their kids had the same amount of work as she did, I was more than a little annoyed with her teachers.
Now, for the record, I expect my kids to have homework, projects and tests to study for. But the amount is on overload especially when half of it is nothing more than busy work. I don't think I'm in the minority when I mention family time is just as important, if not more so, than school work. The Time article also mentioned college deans call freshmen "crispies" because they are burnt out from all their past school work. Yikes! I don't want my kids to be called "crispy" by anyone. Yuck!
Now, what about over stimulation? Our kids are in two or so activities during the year. We aren't that athletic of a family but God has blessed us with other talents. My son, who is still a little guy, does enjoy sports more than our girls and may be more of a ball player. But, how many of us know friends who run all the time ? Do you ever look at someone else's life and wonder what it would be like to live it? Do they hope for sick days? I don't mean to sound judgemental, but I don't think I'm the only one to ponder these questions.
The term "hover parents" was not in the Time article. I did however, hear a speaker use it. Her comment was that the tall slides of our childhood are gone from playgrounds and have been replaced by medium to low height ones with cages over the top half of them. Sure, no one will fall off the side but part of the thrill of a slide that reached to the sun (in my opinion as a former child) was the thrill of knowing as you sped toward the ground you had cheated the perilous slide by not falling off the top! And, please note, I was far from being a thrill seeker when I was a kid. I was mostly scared of everything...wait...did I just admit to being a hover parent in the making?
Back to the Time article. One Mom spoke out after reading a news columnist had praised a family who took pictures of their children every morning before school to obtain a recent photo. Just in case they were abducted. The mother who spoke out was of course confronted. She said she took a deep breath and defended herself. While she agreed with car seat safety and a lot of other programs to teach our children various important facts, she felt we were a generation in overkill. I have to agree with her. However, this is coming from a mother whose daughter was lost for five minutes. Five minutes of never knowing such stomach-dropped-out-of-my-body fear. I cannot imagine going through that type of fear for five hours. Five days. Weeks. And many people have. I remember my husband's face and demeanor. He was trying to be strong and proactive. But he was scared beyond belief too. The relief in finding her I cannot describe.
So, what do we do? There are a lot of things. Most importantly, I think we need to pray for wisdom. Just like Solomon. Guidance is good too. Lack of worry-there's a biggie to give over to Him. We want our children to enjoy the gifts and talents God has blessed them with. That's one of the reasons I've started writing again. I've been doing it since I was a child and never realized how much I missed it after I'd stopped until God reminded me, "Hey, this is the gift I gave you. Let's see what we can do with it." Time off here and there is a good thing. And not just for the kids. We parents enjoy time at home being a family. Working all this in isn't easy. So, go to God for management skills. He may tell you the same thing He told me, "This is a gift I gave you. Let's see what we can do with it!"