Credit: Maureen Downey
Credit: Maureen Downey
This is why parenting can be frustrating.
On one hand, studies show unstructured time for adolescents can lead to drug and alcohol use. Experts recommend keeping them busy.
But a new study of 6-year-old finds benefits in unstructured time; youngsters who spent more time in less-structured activities demonstrated better self-directed executive function, according to a study out of the University of Colorado Boulder.
A summary of the study states:
I understand that free-range children allowed to explore creeks, build forts in the woods and play flashlight tag at dusk may develop greater decision-making skills and may well end up happier, less stressed and more creative people.
But there could be a down side. I had a stay-at-home mother who didn't take her four kids to piano lessons or tennis or soccer. We ran free through the neighborhood and, to her chagrin, through Mrs. Brady's flower beds.
However, as a result, I don’t play the guitar or tennis. My kids do. And they enjoy it.
As a new parent in Decatur, it took me a while to realize where all the kids were after school -- at gymnastics or the horse stable or soccer practice. The busy and diverse world of after-school activities was brand new to me as I always came home from school, dropped my books and ran out the door to find friends.
I was surprised when I called an after-school art program in June to enroll my oldest child for September classes only to discover the slots were filled long ago and she would be No. 15 on the waiting list. (I also was shocked to discover parents lined up at 3 a.m. for city-run summer camps – that changed with my younger kids after the marketplace woke up and realized parents were eager for robotics, photography and bee keeping camps.)
A friend’s son loved baseball and declared in elementary school that he wanted to make the high school team. Their school was one of those Gwinnett sports powerhouses where winning a spot on a varsity team was highly competitive. My friend essentially took on a second job transporting his son to practices, tournaments and private coaching. But his son made the team and loved playing the game.
Would he have made the team if he spent more time chasing butterflies or playing kickball in his cul-de-sac? Probably not and that's the tradeoff.
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