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Lessons and Classes and Clubs, Oh My!
Surviving the After-school Rush
By Heather Johnson Durocher
If you're like so many others with on-the-go children, your calendar is full of activities, from sports practices and games to extracurricular activities like art classes, music lessons or church-affiliated clubs. Somewhere in between all this busyness, your family must eat, tend to important subjects like homework and be able to get enough sleep to ensure you can get up the next morning and do it all again.
Whew!
Don't fret, say those who've juggled activities for more than one child and survived to tell about it. It is possible to not only participate in after-school activities but also to cultivate peace and joy in your family life.
Take a hard look at how your family is spending its time. Your goal may be to raise healthy children, but they – and you – may be growing stressed in the process. At the very least, limit activities to one or two per season, per child, depending upon how many children are in your family. When you're looking to cut or add an activity, consider how much "running around" is involved.
"Don't choose an activity if it doesn't leave your family 'margin,'" says Erin Brown Conroy, author of 20 Secrets to Success with Your Child (Celtic Cross Publishing, 2003) and the mother of 12 (yes, 12!) children. "Experts have stressed the necessity to 'leave room' between activities for our overall heath. Trying to race across town in the 30 minutes between two activities builds unnecessary stress and anxiousness into our lives – and into our kids' lives. If it doesn't leave room for 'margin,' don't add it."