Another Deep Dive into Extracurriculars

Part 2: The potential downsides.

In last week’s newsletter, I discussed some of the many reasons (privileged) parents enroll their kids in (tons of) enrichment activities. Of course, the piece wasn’t exhaustive — there are so many reasons, and every family is different. But there are certainly trends. I also described some of the benefits of activities.

Toward the end of that piece, I highlighted the equity implications of these family choices. If enrichment activities help kids learn new skills and reinforce social ties between privileged families, they likely leave kids who can’t access these activities even further behind.

Today, I want to focus on some of the other potential downsides of extracurriculars, because I think activities sometimes feel like a no-brainer — if parents can afford them, and they may give their kids a leg up, why not do them? — when in fact, they are not always helpful and can sometimes be harmful. I’ll share research that sheds light on just how many extracurriculars are beneficial for kids, on average, and how many can be too many. And I’ll discuss other related issues that might even be more important.

In my third and final installment (which will be running in two weeks, as I’m on vacation next week, woo-hoo!), I’ll share tips on how to tell if your kid is over-scheduled, when to quit activities, and how we can help address some of the inherent equity issues.

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