This summer, for your child's sake, slow down.
We're not talking about your driving, although that's a good idea too.
We're talking about their lives.
We see it every year - the idyllic, easy-living view of summer lasts for about three days before being shattered by booked schedules. There's summer camps, traveling baseball teams, part-time jobs, summer school, play dates. The list goes on.
But if their summer vacation is as regimented as the school year, are they really getting a break? Are they having time to daydream? Time to explore, create something or read something on their own terms, not our teachers' terms?
It hasn't always been this way. When we grew up - we can see your eyes roll; stop it - summer was a time for exploration. A time for laying in the grass and looking at the clouds. We scraped up enough allowance money to ride our bikes to the newsstand to buy the latest copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "X-Men." If we saved up for awhile, we could even spring for a model car.
Those of us who lived in small towns freely roamed area neighborhoods looking for pickup ball games. When we were old enough to ride bikes, we had the run of the town. That might include a stop at the local fishing supply shop, which had a pinball machine in the back.
We live in a different world now. Safety concerns keep children on a short leash. We're not experts in child development, but we suspect it requires more than running from one event to the next.
We're not suggesting you let your children lay around all summer. And we're certainly not advocating you support their goal of setting a world record for "longest consecutive Minecraft playing session."
But to encourage brain development, give your children time to create and explore on their own.
For the past nine months, your child's schedules have been booked with archery, basketball, plays, projects, concerts, not to mention school itself.
September will arrive soon enough. So this summer, give your kids a rest.
News Tribune