There will always be time for work—about 40 years of it. But time spent together as a family is more valuable.
My daughter, a kindergartener, loves to learn. It’s her favorite thing to do and she’s good at it. She always wants to figure out the next step, whether it’s reading, math, or science. In a recent conference, her teacher had nothing but glowing things to say about her academics. When it came time for me to ask questions, my first was “Is she having fun?”
It’s important for me to make sure this love of learning doesn’t burn out—ever. That’s important if she is to reach her potential. Here are some ideas I’m trying to make sure she maintains a school/life balance.
Share one or more hobbies
If left to entertain herself, my daughter would either watch Netflix for hours on end or play on the educational apps provided by her school on her iPad. Everyone needs downtime, even a kindergartener. If that means I have to shepherd her towards fun, that’s what I’m going to do.
We recently got into geocaching. She’s now obsessed. It’s part scavenger hunt (fun) with academic skills like geography and spatial awareness (work). She now knows that we’re going to go outside and experience life rather than spend time in front of a screen working on our addition. And we’re doing it together.
Start or continue established traditions
Many families have routine traditions, like a show or two on TV that everyone likes. It’s a standing appointment. But as students get busier and more homework comes down the pipeline, they might be excused from the tradition so they can get their work done.
There will always be time for work—about 40 years of it. But time spent together as a family is more valuable. Put away your taskmaster hat for a little while and protect certain times that the student knows they can count on to be “off work”.
Don’t push—offer opportunities
My daughter has taken swimming lessons for years. She’s way past the point where she needs them to survive; she’s now doing them as an extracurricular activity. At least, she was. She doesn’t want to swim anymore. And that’s fine, even though she showed talent at the sport and could definitely pursue it further.
Kids who are serious about school are used to being pushed, even by themselves. They don’t need it with an activity that is supposed to be fun. Instead, we’re going to have daddy-daughter sports night on the nights she would have had swimming. We’ll try different sports and activities together. She might like one and want to focus there. She might like just getting outside and having fun. When it comes to activities, you are their provider, not their coach and certainly not their agent.