The Pick and Choose Technique

How to avoid overscheduling your kids...

Step 1: Figure out your child’s workload

This is a great way of visualising the extent of your child’s extra-curricular commitments – if you’re doing one a night it might not have sunk in just how busy she is. Ask your child fetch one important item connected with each activity, tutorial, hobby or sport they do – for example, if your son plays football, he can use the ball or his boots; if your daughter is playing tennis, she could fetch her racket. Get them to make a pile of the items and then start giving them each separate item to hold. At some point they’ll be overloaded and run out of arm space – a great metaphor for just how overloaded their schedules are.

Step 2: Decide what’s do-able

Come to an agreement on how many activities you and your child can reasonably manage across a week, with at least one afternoon and evening of family down-time.

Step 3: Give your child a voice

Let your child pick which activities she wants to keep doing – you may find she has long-hated some of them and is only too pleased to give them up!

Step 4: Have your own say

For each activity your child picks, you get to pick one too – this should ensure the activities aren’t all weighted in one direction (for example, a range of sports without any more academic choices to provide a balanced range).