Moms Talk: How Do You Balance Activities?

T-Ball, swimming lessons, birthday parties, play dates—sometimes it can seem as if your child has a busier social life than you do! And now she or he wants to add dance lessons to the mix because their best friend of the week is going to take them ... sure, you can add a few more hours to the day right? Or perhaps they can forgo creative play, the kind where their imaginations get to run free. Maybe you can just have them skip a meal ...

 It’s a tough situation—how to give your kids the activities they love with the downtime they need? How to balance programmed play with free play? Where do you draw the line? And is age a factor in deciding activities?