How Much is Too Much When It Comes to Kids' Activities?

Our  feature on Woburn Patch is part of an initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Woburn Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Woburn.

Each week in , our Woburn Patch Moms Council of experts and smart moms will take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question from a local mom and some answers from our Woburn Patch Moms Council: 

Q: What is a good balance between how much a parent should make their children work on certain activities such as homework/music lessons, etc. and how much time should just be free play?

A: We haven't run into this too much, but I worry about it in the future, hearing about how much homework some kids have.  

For us, our kids do one activity at a time, such as soccer, karate, etc.  Plus, they all take swimming lessons, but we see that more as a need and safety thing since family members have pools and we spend a lot of time with them.   

Kids still need to be able to play and get out their energy after school.  I also believe that teachers need to realize that some kids struggle more than others, and that maybe homework should be more of a time thing rather than an amount.  That way the kids that struggle aren't spending all night and getting frustrated, and the kids that find those subjects easy can have more practice and won't get it done in five minutes.