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Swim team practices are at five-thirty in the morning. Piano and violin lessons are squeezed in after school on Thursdays. And if it's Monday afternoon, it must be soccer practice. Family dinners? A thing of the past. CCD instruction? Just another activity in the endless list of "things to do" to somehow fit into the week.
There are many reasons for the hectic pace of family life today. Part of the current frenzy is fueled by the array of choices available to children-many of which didn’t exist twenty years ago. In addition, anxious parents are worried that without a laundry list of extracurricular activities, their child will be “left behind.” The result: Swing sets, jungle gyms, and sandboxes that were once filled with laughing children now sit silent and empty, as kids are carpooled back and forth from one lesson to the next.
Parents indeed face conflicting feelings. They naturally want their children to learn new skills and thrive in a healthy, competitive environment that will prepare them to become successful adults. However, by taking advantage of all the choices offered today, many families can end up feeling overly stressed and helpless. How can families step…
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