cancelling trips and school, has got me to thinking.....

[crazyme5kids]

Are we really doing our children justice by placing so much, almost to an extreme on education? I mean over and over again we hear how much homework is heaped on children! 10 year olds with 2-3 hours per night of homework! We see shows about high school students, they all say how stressed out, how burnt out they feel, and they are only in their teens! We hear the medical community talk about how they are seeing medical conditions on the increase in children and teens, stress related, over weight, high blood pressure, depression, higher suicide rates etc... that previously were mainly seen in adults. so my question is ........ What are we doing? When do we say enough is enough? When do we say our kids should be allowed to be kids? Is it just me, are we a society that hears what kids are saying, but aren't really listening?

 

[crazyme5kids]

Don't slink away, and please don't change your mind when your girls reach middle school. I know I will never regret the time spent together. What I know I would regret, is the missed opportunity of time. If something were to happen to me or my husband (hate to sound morbid here), I want my kids to have those special memories. Hopefully we will grow very old, and share those memories with my grandchildren and great grandchildren, just like my grandmother does!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Originally posted by jldriscoll
Activities CANNOT on a "regular" basis interfer with weekend family time or homework.

Think about us folks that DO volunteer our TIME. It does take away MORE from my family.
It just makes me want to QUIT when folks sign up for stuff and then complain about the activities.
I just don't understand it. You signed up for something in good faith to participate.

 

[tar heel]

I think we would be doing our kids an injustice if we did NOT stress the importance of education. They are going to be entering a very different adult/work world than we did or especially their grandparents did, and I think it is our responsibility to see that they are as prepared as possible. It hasn't been many years ago that pretty much any college education guaranteed you a good job for 40 years. Obviously, that is no longer the case, so the kids with strong records at better colleges are going to stand out from the crowd. To get into those colleges, you need a good high school record.

Although I hear what you're saying about the stress/overwork of these kids (and I share some of your concern), do you really think they are doing any more than the kids (such as my father) who used to milk cows, feed pigs, etc., before and after school?

 

[jldriscoll]

Originally posted by The Mystery Machine
Think about us folks that DO volunteer our TIME. It does take away MORE from my family.
It just makes me want to QUIT when folks sign up for stuff and then complain about the activities.
I just don't understand it. You signed up for something in good faith to participate.

Just so we are on the same page. I don't let my girls sign up for stuff if I feel like I am going to complain. Regular weekend activities are really what are off limits for our family. And lastly, like you I am usually the leader or instructior of the things my kids do. I am the mom that is th Girl Scout Leader, Holiday Bazaar Coordinator, Room mother, scorekeeper, etc. But I have always stated up front, I will voluteer my time as long as it doesn't involve EVERY weekend and I will NOT take away family time after 7:30 pm. Everyone I've ever worked with has admired this stand.

I know what it's like to feel unaprecitated as a volunteer!! Had a mom tell me last year I spent too much time with the kids! Turns out she was frusterated she couldn't spend ANY time with hers even though she was a SAHM. Too many activities that involved her JUST being the chaufer.

 

[mamajoan]

I don't know how families with older, jr.hi, and high school kids pull their kids out of school for a week of vacation. There is no way to 'catch up' with all the work that they would miss, at least in our situation. We put the priority on school, it is their.. job..
Yes, I think family is important but I feel family vacations should be scheduled around school..jmho. It was not such a big deal when my kids were in elementary as you could pretty much 'catch up' if gone for a week. Now, to do so the stress would be way to much... I admit I would much rather vacation during off-peak seasons but that it would not work for us now.
Different strokes for different folks.

 

[crazyme5kids]

In a perfect world vacations could be schedualed around school holidays. That isn't always the case for many families. I guess I just feel that there is such a short time span in the life of a child before they do have to take on the adult world. Think about how quickly 18 years goes by. I stress the importance of education and keeping your commitments as far as extra activities are concerned. I volunteer. Believe me my kids complained about having to make up the work and how much they had to make up. Yes it was hard to do. You know what? The complaints were short lived, they made it through and did what they had to. They don't talk about having to make up the work, they talk about the fun we had. The don't look at pictures of themselves sitting behind books, instead they look at pictures of vacation and smile. I am living proof that you can juggle both school and vacation, and believe me if I can do it and make it work with my family anyone can, I am the most unorganized,laid back person in the world LOL!