How busy is too busy?

It's pretty common to hear parents talk about racing their child from one activity to the next-or to a football game, school club, dance tryout or a roster of activities. Some parents might feel their child is "missing out" if he isn't constantly occupied. There are various reasons to why our kids are so harried, but it all adds up to overload.

 If you notice these signs, they may mean your child is too busy:

-Feeling tired, exhausted or depressed

-Not enjoying the activity they once loved

-Lower grades in school

-Complaining of headaches or body aches, which may be due to stress or lack of sleep

-Having stomach pain, which may be due to missed meals or stress

An active schedule can wear on a child's social and family life. When a child is too busy to play with friends, his friendships may suffer-as does the family structure if one parent is busy running one child to karate practice while the other parent is at a dance recital. Not to mention, it can be extremely tiresome for everyone involved.

If you feel your child is too busy, try to:

-Schedule activities in moderation. Start slow and add an additional activity when you feel your child is ready to multi-task.

-Make sure the activity is developmentally appropriate for the age of your child.

-Keep a family calender to stay organized. Place the calendar in a place where everyone can see it and can add their activities.

-Mark off a day on the calendar as a family day. Do not schedule any individual activities on that day and do something together as a family.

-Parents may need to say "No". If adding one more activity is going to overload your child, you can talk to her about dropping an activity to add the new one.