Today’s children are busy. Between school, sports, music, gymnastics, tutoring, and dance, it seems like children have less unstructured free time than ever.
According to Dr. Robert Murray, pediatrician and vice chair of the nonprofit Action for Healthy Kids, unstructured time helps kids learn how to self-direct and how to build critical social and emotional skills that will help them interact with others and self-regulate as adults.
The snack food company GoGo SqueeZ, a partner of Action for Healthy Kids, recently conducted a survey of over 1,000 US adults with children under the age of 12. The study found that 85% of the parents believe scheduled activities like sports and clubs lead to greater success in life. Additionally, 72% of the respondents felt their kids had less free and unstructured time as compared to their own childhoods.
According to research, the kids of today are spending their time in ways that are significantly different than kids a single generation back — here’s how it could be affecting them.
- Today’s kids are busier than ever, their days packed with structured activities like school, sports, and tutoring.
- Kids a century ago had increased free time, spent more time outside, and slept longer than the kids of today’s digital era.
- Here are five ways modern kids spend their time differently.