Source: New York Times
RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, March 29, 2002: The people in this suburban town decided they weren’t spending enough quality time as families because they were overscheduling their children. They began meeting with community leaders and school officials, and scheduled themselves some free time. Tonight was declared “Family Night,” an evening when everyone was encouraged to set aside frenetic agendas and do nothing but relax with their families. Organizers talked the Ridgewood school system into assigning no homework for the night and canceled all athletic practices. Ridgewood, a well-to-do North Jersey suburb, took a lot of ribbing for working so hard to get some down time. But the idea has hit a nerve. It turns out that parents across the country — suburban, rural and urban feel they have become too wrapped up in the effort to help their children achieve, at the cost of time spent with family. “Family life has been getting out of control as parents become unpaid chauffeurs and what I call the entertainment directors on the cruise ships,” said Dr. William J Doherty, author of “Take Back Your Kids.” Most parents mean well when they strive to provide their children opportunities to learn new skill like piano or dance, or to take part in sports, Dr. Doherty said. But he said that in the last 15 to 20 years, parents have given in to peer pressure to sign their children up for more activities, and at increasingly young ages, for fear that other children will get ahead of them. That trend squeezes out time for family, or quiet reflection or for children just to use their imaginations.