The pressure to build a perfect resume for college starts earlier than ever, leading many parents to over-schedule their children with a dizzying array of activities. A clinical psychologist warns that this “more is more” approach is dangerous, often leading to exhaustion and burnout rather than success.
Meghna Kanwat, a clinical psychologist, strongly advises against “overloading [children] with too many competitive or high-pressure tasks.” She argues that a schedule packed with back-to-back activities, however enriching they may seem, leaves no room for the two things children need most: unstructured play and rest.
This lack of downtime is detrimental to a child’s brain. The mind needs idle time to process information, consolidate memories, and foster creativity. A constantly stimulated brain is a fatigued brain, which makes learning more difficult and emotional regulation nearly impossible. This is the very definition of burnout.
Kanwat’s advice is a call for parents to embrace a “less is more” philosophy. This means carefully choosing one or two activities that a child genuinely loves, rather than signing them up for everything. It requires parents to have the confidence to resist social pressure and prioritize their child’s well-being over a packed schedule.
By building free time and rest into the family calendar, parents give their children the space to be children. They allow them to discover their own interests, learn to entertain themselves, and develop at their own pace. This balanced approach is far more likely to lead to a happy, healthy, and genuinely successful adult.