A Healthy Schedule Needs Breathing Room

School.

Homework.

Tutoring.

Language class.

Sport.

Music.

Birthday party.

Project.

Repeat.

Children can have wonderful opportunities and still become overwhelmed by the number of them.

There is no universal formula for the perfect schedule. One child enjoys a busy week. Another needs much more time to recover between activities.

Making Room for Well-Being

But well-being deserves a place in the planning.

The World Health Organization describes adolescence as a period when healthy sleep, regular exercise, coping skills, supportive relationships and safe environments contribute to mental well-being.

Those things require time.

A schedule that looks impressive on paper can become unhealthy if it consistently pushes out sleep, movement, family connection or any moment in which a young person gets to choose what to do next.

Ask What Gets Pushed Out

Even digital media can quietly crowd out other activities. Current American Academy of Pediatrics guidance encourages families to pay attention not only to screen use itself but to what media is displacing.

That is a useful question for the whole calendar.

What is this activity crowding out?

Sometimes the answer is “nothing important.”

Great.

Sometimes the answer is sleep.

Dinner together.

A walk.

Reading for pleasure.

Or simply an hour in which nobody is evaluating performance.

Empty Time Is Allowed

Breathing room is not wasted time.

It is capacity.

Children and teenagers do not need to be constantly entertained or optimized.

Sometimes an empty Saturday afternoon is allowed to remain empty.

Sources & further reading

• World Health Organization — Mental Health of Adolescents
• American Academy of Pediatrics / HealthyChildren.org — How to Make a Family Media Plan