After-School Activities vs. Downtime for Kids

For most of my childhood, my extracurricular schedule consisted of riding my bike to the local YMCA every Saturday morning for a swimming lesson. I’m pretty sure my mom and dad never asked themselves if they were scheduling too much or too little for me. And yet it’s a question parents these days seem to grapple with constantly.

I always thought finding the right balance with my own children would be clear, but I can’t deny the pressure I sometimes feel when I hear about my kids’ friends and their weekly schedules: acting class, guitar, gymnastics, tennis, dance, Mandarin. To shed some light on this issue, I turned to local experts who support parents as they navigate matters like this.

The Research on After-School Activities

To discuss the balance between scheduled activities and unscheduled me time for kids, it’s important first to ask: Are today’s kids actually overscheduled—or does it just feel that way?    

A recent paper in the journal Social Policy Report reviewed the research and found more than 80 percent of American children take part in some extracurricular activity, including sports, lessons, or clubs. Approximately 7 million of those are enrolled in after-school programs and many more participate in clubs and organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girls Inc., according to the report.

Even though those numbers may seem high, the same report shows children and adolescents spend an average of only five hours per week participating in organized activities. So, although extracurricular activities get a lot of attention, other activities—screen time, chores, spending time with friends and family, working, and doing homework—occupy as much (and often more) time than organized activities. In other words, it may make more sense to worry about your child’s screen time than about the hours he spends at after-school programs.

There are, however, cases where overscheduling poses problems for kids. The same research suggests there may be a point of diminishing returns for a small number of young people with very high levels of involvement—meaning, some kids who participate in a multitude of extracurricular activities may see fewer advantages as they take on more and more. For instance, the educational benefits of playing sports seem to level off when kids participate in more than two competitive team sports.

Danis Copenhaver, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatrician at South Slope Pediatrics in Brooklyn, looks for telltale signs to make sure her young patients aren’t overscheduled. “I make a point to ask every patient and family about mealtimes and sleep,” she says. “A huge red flag for me is if meals are always eaten on the go and if bedtime is inconsistent or very late. In pre-teens and teenagers, I try and assess if they are enjoying the activities they are involved in. Sometimes they will answer honestly in the exam room and it’s the first time the parents are hearing about it. That can lead to a discussion about prioritizing time out of school for family, friends, sports, and activities.”

Overall, however, concerns about overscheduling seem to be overblown. Despite what we so often hear in the media, the research shows that only a small number of young people (between 3 and 6 percent) are very highly scheduled, spending 20 or more hours a week taking part in these activities. The same research also points to evidence that kids who participate in organized activities do better than those who don’t. These young people are more likely to have higher academic achievement, finish school, do well in college, be well-adjusted, smoke less, use drugs less often, and interact more with parents.

The Benefits of Downtime for Kids

Even if kids may not, for the most part, be overscheduled, there are many studies emphasizing the pluses of unscheduled free time for children as well as adults. A 2012 report by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang of the University of Southern California showed that when we are resting, our brains are not actually idle and downtime is essential to many of our mental processes. The report examined related research showing this relaxed time is an opportunity for the brain to make sense of what it has recently learned.

Kids need to play and explore, says Sharon Peters, who founded the Brooklyn-based marriage and family counseling practice Parents Helping Parents. She is a big proponent of building downtime into a family’s schedule. For more than 20 years, she has been supporting parents as they raise their children. She also draws from her own personal experiences as a mother of five children, several of whom have special needs. “All group settings or one-on-one lessons with a teacher are demanding in ways that individual time isn’t,” she says.

Young kids can’t simply roam the streets alone, Peters notes, but it’s essential to fit into their schedules the type of play that encourages exploration and independence. “A great way to incorporate this for younger children is finding a safe space for them to wander and make decisions on their own,” she says. Her comment rings true for me personally, as I’ve noticed my 2-year-old is at his most relaxed and engaged when he is wandering through Prospect Park with me following a few feet behind him.

Downtime benefits kids of all ages, according to Dr. Copenhaver. “In younger children ages 2-5 unstructured play time encourages imagination and cooperation. It can also allow them time to rest and recharge, avoiding becoming overstimulated and cranky,” she says.

Me time also has specific benefits for older children. “In school-aged kids, I find that non-scheduled downtime allows them to more deeply explore their likes and develop their talents,” Dr. Copenhaver says. “Some kids develop a love of reading, others find that they still enjoy playing at the park, while others take the time to participate in preparing meals for their family.” She adds that in teens, stress levels decrease and sleep duration and quality usually benefit first from non-scheduled down time.