According to psychologists, it is very important for parents to keep their kids busy and engaged in one activity or another as it has many benefits but it is also essential for parents to maintain a balance between these activities and family time. It is proven from research that kids who have busy schedules are more confident and successful in school and life in general as compared to kids who have ample free time to kill.

Kids nowadays are greatly affected by the society and peer pressure. They tend to “do” something just because their fellows are “doing” it. Your kid might have no interest in cricket but he plays just because all the other boys play too and it is considered cool. This peer pressure and the desire to always look cool and stay in may lead kids to over scheduling. This will definitely leave the kids more exhausted and irritated to enjoy quality family time and do their homework. It is the duty of the teachers and parents to assess the balance between the kids’s routine so that he may enjoy a healthy time.

The next big question is how to judge if the kids are too busy for their own health. It is difficult but not impossible to judge behavior of kids. Teens specially tend to show signs sooner. Your kid is too busy if:

• His grades are falling. His tests and assignments start showing lack of preparation and attention.
• He leaves his homework incomplete.
• He gets home late after school.
• Starts skipping school altogether.
• He is usually irritated at incidents that are otherwise considered normal.
• His relationship with the siblings starts being more negative.
• Couldn’t manage to give family ample time.
• Skips meals.
• Feels tired and stressed all the time.
• Complains about headaches, this may be due to lack of sleep or skipped meals. Other physical illnesses could also occur like fatigue, muscle tension, stomach aches etc.
• Becomes less social than before (avoids time out with friends etc).

There are a lot many drawbacks of working too hard, like the kid busy in a lot of activities will not be able to succeed in any of them. As he could not give his full attention to all the activities at a single time so a balance must be practiced.