Do we overexert our children?

I told myself before I had kids that I wouldn’t be one of those moms. You know the type. The crazy, frazzled woman running around like a chicken without a head, with the perpetual ponytail and lack of makeup. Every time you see her she’s rushing to her next destination, with a passing, “Sorry I gotta run, late again…” That’s me. That sums me up 100% these days. And it’s so sad. Which leads me to ask the question, are we overexerting our children? I have two daughters, aged 5 & 6. Up until recently, my eldest daughter did netball twice a week; rhythm gymnastics twice a week; swimming; piano and choir. Over and above this, I signed her up with an agency to do some ads, so when they call, you need to drop everything

and go.

So this begs the question, who are we doing this for? I never had these opportunities as a child. I cannot sing, I have two left feet, I cannot play a musical instrument, and I never learnt to dive – I want more for my kids. I want them to go to the school dance and not be shy to let loose. I want them to hold a note and walk into a friend’s house, see a piano in the corner, and belt out a quick Mozart. And I want them to try out for the water polo team if they want to!

But this year my daughter started competitions for rhythm gymnastics. Her teacher was very strict on her, and she was coming home in tears after each lesson. Trying to get her to practice at home was like pulling teeth, she had already built up a hatred for it. So I dropped it. I didn’t want to be that mom – I didn’t want my child to hate me.

At the end of the day, they’re just kids, they’re still so little. The best thing that we can do for our kids is to stop being so busy all the time and actually just enjoy them, spend time with them, and play with them. I think this is the recipe for well-rounded, balanced kids.