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orange blossom
Joined: 20 Mar 2007
Posts: 1162
Location: Australia
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 Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:38 am Post subject: Busy children do better |
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Organised activities would benefit children's development, contrary to the common belief that children would be stressed. Either too much work or play would make Jack (or Jill) a dull boy (or girl).
Parents should intuitvely and skilfully balance activities for learning, group activities, fun and still leave time for creativity and imagination depending on each individual's interest, abilities, temperament and age.
| Quote: | Adele Horin
New research into the lives of middle-class children bucks conventional wisdom they are an over-scheduled and stressed-out generation.
It shows participation in organised activities is linked to positive outcomes in school, emotional development, family life and behaviour.
The children most at risk had no activities at all.
"I found the opposite of what I expected," said Sandra Hofferth, of the University of Maryland, who will speak at the 30th International Conference for Time-Use Research in Sydney in December.
Dr Hofferth found in her study of 331 children aged from nine to 12 that the best off led a balanced life with involvement in one or two activities, for less than four hours, over the two days tracked in the study. Almost 60 per cent of the children fell into this category. But even the 25 per cent who best fitted the description of "over-scheduled" were doing almost as well on a range of measures.
Of particular concern were the 17 per cent with no activities, a group that was more withdrawn and socially immature, and had lower self-esteem.
Dr Hofferth said she had originally believed that lots of activities were bad for children. But the data showed otherwise. "We just don't find that the children who are more active are more stressed," she said.
Increasing numbers of middle-class parents have felt pressure to give their children every opportunity but then feel anxious their children lead hurried lives with no time to daydream or experience boredom.
Books such as What's the Hurry?, The Hurried Child and The Overscheduled Child have urged parents to back off and let children play.
Dr Hofferth's findings echoed earlier research by Columbia University's Suniya Luthar, who found children reacted negatively to pressure for achievement - not to busy schedules. Feeling criticism from adults in their lives turned activities from being a source of enjoyment into a source of anxiety.
Michael Bittman, a professorial fellow at the University of New England, who has studied the activities of 5000 Australian four- and five-year-olds, said it was plausible that children who had no scheduled activities were disadvantaged in other ways.
"It's possible their parents aren't reading to them either," he said.
He said Australian parents said they were very busy but "the four- and five-year-olds were not that busy on average. It might change by the time they're 11 and 12." Some organised activities for pre-schoolers helped language development, but so did unscheduled play. "We found that watching more than two hours of television a day was not good for children's mental health," he said.
Louise Newman, professor of psychiatry at the University of Newcastle, said: "In practice we see some children who are extremely burdened by pressures for achievement and by activities imposed on them by their parents. But on the other hand we see children who have ongoing social difficulties because they're relatively isolated."
She said it was good for children to be introduced to a range of activities, to try new things and to be able to pursue their gifts and passions."But, as in most things, balance is the key."
Kathy Walker, author of What's the Hurry? said when children were involved in too many activities, family life was too hectic. "Children under five need one activity per week and older children need a couple," she said. |
Washington Post;
http://www.smh.com.au/news/life--style-home/parenting/busy-children-shown-to-do-better/2008/09/28/1222540247454.html
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