Finding Balance: Rejecting the Pressure to Overschedule Our Children

Send us Fan MailHave you ever felt trapped on the hamster wheel of children's activities, racing from soccer to dance to tutoring with barely a moment to breathe? You're not alone. In this refreshingly honest episode, I share my radical decision to cancel ALL my children's fall extracurricular activities—and why it might be the best parenting move I've made in years.The "busy badge of honor" that many parents wear has become a status symbol in modern parenting. But at what cost? I reveal how my family's packed schedule left little time for homework, family dinners, or simply being present with my children. The realization hit me: we don't need to fill every moment of our children's lives with structured activities for them to thrive.Looking back at my own childhood as an '80s kid, I reflect on how different things were—one dance class here, a season of soccer there—yet I turned out perfectly fine. This leads to a deeper conversation about the immense pressure we put on today's children to excel in everything from preschool to college, often pushing them down paths they never chose for themselves. The truth is, many of us with expensive degrees aren't even using them, having made major life decisions at 17 or 18 that didn't align with who we truly became.What would happen if we stepped back and asked: what truly matters? What if success isn't measured by how many activities we can squeeze into a week, but by finding what genuinely lights us up? This fall, I'm choosing a different path—one with more breathing room, more focus on education, and more time for my family to simply be together.Whether you're feeling overwhelmed by your family's schedule or questioning the path you're on, this episode invites you to reconsider what "having it all" really means. Follow me on social media to join upcoming live streams where we'll continue these important conversations about parenting, purpose, and finding your own definition of success.Support the showLove this content? Check out our links below for more!Linktr.ee ContentInstagramYouTubeJenny's LinkedIn