Busy, Busy, Busy.....

A common thread of conversations over the front desk this past week has been “where did Term One go?” This caused me to take stock and reflect on how busy our lives are and to ponder how all this business of rushing about everywhere is impacting on the lives of our children.

I am a firm believer in the old adage that it is vital to our kid’s sufficient time to be just that “kids”. At a risk of sounding like a dinosaur I have fond memories of my childhood days being spent playing outdoors and not coming home until Mum called (I know different time and different context), climbing trees, getting dirty and no-one cared and simply playing. And that play came out of our imaginations not from the latest App.

Even though I am a very passionate teacher of young children I believe that not everything in the life of a child needs to be tied learning or a particular purpose. A couple of extracurricular activities are fine but not every hour of every day needs to be filled with something. If it is we run the risk of creating “stimulus junkies “who are incapable of making independent choices and decisions.

It is important to include some regular down time in your family life so that all the family can relax and you have time to connect as a family. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your children will be bored, boredom creates opportunities for them to learn to occupy themselves.

My quote of the day: