CREATE A SCHEDULE FOR YOUR CHILD

Written By: Stephanie Dunaieff

There are so many extracurricular activities for kids nowadays. It is hard to fit in the activities, homework, studying, and time to just be a kid. Here are some suggestions to fit it all in and not overwhelm your child.

• Allow children half an hour to an hour to relax and have a snack after school. They are sitting all day in a controlled environment, give them a short break.
• Leave one hour for elementary school students, two hours for middle school students, and two and a half hours for high school students to do homework each day. (These are general guidelines and are different for every child.)
• Pick one weekday a week as a relax day. It is good for children to have structure and activities but they also need some time to relax and be kids. They still need to do their homework before they relax.
• Allow children to try a variety of activities including team sports, individual sports, music, and art.
• Most importantly, listen to your child. If they seem to be struggling or complaining about the schedule or workload, allow them to have more time to complete the work they have to do.
• Older Children can do multiple extracurricular activities after school since the school ends earlier. Most sports have practice every day. Try to keep their schedule after the sports lighter to give them time to do homework and relax.

Some Sample Schedules for Younger Children: