What constitutes too many activities?

My grand children are like most typical kids, they love legos, playdough, dinosaurs, playing pretend and screen-time. Yes I said screen-time. In fact, my five-year-old grand son could spend hours upon hours watching lego videos and his three-year old sister would watch Peppa Pig Playdough videos if their parents let them.

Their parents have decided it's time to get them into physical activities. Sure, they like to play outside, and go to the park like most kids, but they need something with structure. After many conversations with the littles, they have decided to try gymnastics. It's only 45-60 minutes, once a week. The kids will get a chance to learn new skills, gain confidence and participate in a group activity.

I think this is a great idea and am all for it. I'm glad they have decided just to try one activity. This will make them accountable that they have a commitment once a week that they will need to keep. I think one extra curricular activity is perfect for their age, which brings me to HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH????

I once worked for a family that had an only child. Her schedule was so rigorous that it was to the point of too much. She had school, choir, swim lessons, public speaking, and piano lessons. Oh, and as she had a disability, she also had physical therapy and occupational therapy thrown in once a week as well.

Did I mention she was only seven years old? She also had taken riding lessons at some point in the mix. I would pick her up from school, bring her home, fix a snack and then she had homework to do. After homework, her parents had her do extra homework from some online sites. She was a bright child, and hardly had a minute of unscheduled time to be just a kid.

I also have friends whose grandchildren are equally as busy. Between two ongoing sports, (which means practices), piano lessons, dance and Girl Scouts, there is hardly a free minute for either the kids or full-time working parents!

How much do you think is too much? I think no matter what the age, a child should not be in more than two activities at a given time. Kids still need time to be kids. While it may seem that you're thinking about your child's best interest, they can get stressed out just like adults.