Busy Kids

So here's how it works in my house. I make a deal with my children at the beginning of each school year. They can join three organized after school programs, and at least one must be a physical activity. My older daughter is in piano lessons, Brownies and skiing. Her younger sister is in dance, soccer and skiing.

They get to choose their activities and are (except for one recent case in which I made an exception) expected to see out their commitment (i.e., they can't quit part-way through).

This year, we made the decision as a family to join a ski program at a local resort, so our children have one activity on the weekends, and the other two are during the week, outside of school hours. Because their activities don't align perfectly, it means we have something to do nearly every day of the week. My husband works an evening shift, so most of the transportation falls to me. It makes for a busy week, and I sometimes find myself longing for a quiet evening at home.

Am I alone? I hear stories of families whose kids are so unbelievably involved and scheduled that they need to carry Blackberries just to keep track of each other, and then I hear of families who are dropping out of the activities scene altogether. But where do most of us fit? Somewhere in between, I would think.

Take the mini-poll below to see where you fit in on the spectrum.

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Kath is a regular contributor to urbanmoms.ca and blogs at Losing It.