When your child was younger, it was relatively easy to keep track of their schedules. They may have had one or two things going on. Their schedules often revolved around what was the most convenient for you. But as they grow older, their schedule changes. What was once easy is now a more complex task of balancing how to get them to their activities on time and how to balance all of the other things they have going on such as homework, family time and social obligations. If it is overwhelming for you, then it is definitely overwhelming for your tween.
One of the signs that it is too much is if there just isn’t enough time in the day for them to get it all done. While an occasional day like this happens, it is when this becomes a pattern that your Tween’s schedule needs to be reevaluated. This can lead to frustration, mood swings and a lot of stress as important items such as homework may not get completely finished. It can also hurt grades in school and some skills simply because your Tween just doesn’t have enough time to practice them adequately.
Another sign that it may be too much is if your Tween is becoming frustrated and displaying a reluctance to go to a particular activity or event. While there are times when your Tween just doesn’t want to do something, if it becomes consistently hard to motivate them to go or if they don’t participate as much as they should, it may be time to call that activity quits. While you want your Tween to accomplish things that they promise to do, there is a time when it is okay to stop the activity because it is causing your Tween a lot of stress and causing a lot of fights.
If they are doing something on every single day of the week and on the weekends, they have too much on their plates. Like adults, Tweens need to have some time where they can just relax and take time for themselves. If they don’t have this time, frustration and stress levels can lead to acting out their feelings. It can be hard to deal with such behavior because it is likely that you are also getting stressed out over all of the running around. So, if this occurs, it is time to sit down and figure out what the priorities are.
Tweens can lead very active lives. All of this activity can lead to high stress levels in your Tween. If their busy schedule isn’t allowing them time to wind down, then it is time to consider a new schedule that will help establish a better balance of the things they have to do and the things they want to do.