The Case for Doing Less on Weekends
Family time can so easily become over-scheduled with sports, birthday parties, play dates, and school functions. But what if we opted out?
There is a growing movement among parents advocating for free range, freeform summers, weekends, and downtime. This summer, the New York Times asked: Is It OK for Your Kids to ‘Rot’ All Summer? Sounds a little ick, but the idea is interesting, if a little more extreme than I would be comfortable with. But the crux of it is: Spend less money on expensive camps that often don’t provide a full day of childcare, and instead let your kids play and be bored. Perhaps, they don’t have to spend the entire summer sharpening skills, being shuttled between activities, and always doing more, more, more.
Similarly, Katherine Goldstein (who is quoted in the NYT story as well) asks in The Double Shift: Are Kids’ Activities Stopping Parents From Finding Community? She lays out her case in a pretty compelling way that’s worth considering—and a 5ish minute read, at most. And it pushes us all to think about what community means to us, and the difference is between being in and around a group of people versus being part of that group.
Photographed by Meredith Brunner
So, my challenge to all of you is this: What if you took one activity off your calendars every weekend? RSVP no to a birthday party your kid isn’t that excited about. Sign up for just one sport per kid during any given season. Reschedule a play date if you already have a lot going on on any particular weekend. And then, just hang out. Read books. Go for a walk. Be spontaneous. Or just enjoy some adult time while the kids entertain themselves. Revolutionary, I know. But it could be great.
