Parents are you over-giving?

There are some parenting beliefs that are in direct conflict with balanced living. Parents want to give their children every opportunity, particularly ones they didn’t have as kids. It’s wonderful until the parents run themselves off their feet delivering these opportunities. In some cases, they run their kids off their feet too.

So what can we give up?

We have to teach our kids to swim, to skate (in Canada that’s a must), to play an instrument and a sport. Next thing you know, there are multiple activities per week, across many children the family is in a whirlwind of drop-offs and picks up and the continual mad dash of rushing.

Rushing is one of the number one most common everyday sources of toxicity. It stresses the nervous system, which can cause a ripple effect of troubling symptoms. When you add in eating on the go while rushing, well, that’s just a bad idea for so many reasons.

I’ve talked to many mothers about this conundrum. It sounds trivial but there are all sorts of reasons parents can’t say not to schedules that they know are too dense. I’ve heard so many explanations and they are all valid. In my opinion, none of them are as critical as teaching the children the value of balanced living.

It may not be possible to learn to skate, swim and play piano all the same time. We may have to make hard choices because it’s by saying no, even to good healthy things, that we protect space to just be. It’s gotten to the point that time to just be has to be scheduled or it doesn’t happen. Life just spills into empty spaces. Density is a major contributor to chronic illness in adults. It’s taking a serious toll on children’s ability to focus and regulate their behaviour.

So, invite you to take a hard look at your schedule and ask yourself, where are the times to just unwind when there is nothing specific that you have to do? Are you protecting your empty spaces? They are excellent medicine.