Little Talks, Big Impact: Balancing Your Daughter’s Co-Curriculars
In the latest edition of Little Talks, Big Impact, PLC Sydney’s Sport & Performance Psychologist, Mr Gerard Faure-Brac, explores how to find the “sweet spot” when balancing busy schedules for young people. With so many opportunities available to our girls, it’s worth considering how we can strike the right balance between co-curricular activities, downtime and family life.
Finding the "Sweet Spot": Balancing Your Daughter’s Co-Curricular Schedule
One of the many wonderful things about PLC Sydney is that we encourage and provide a diverse range of opportunities for our girls to be engaged, inspired, curious and active. Research shows that structured activities boost self-esteem, health, and social skills.
While co-curricular activities are fantastic for development, over-scheduling can lead to a "tipping point" where the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.
The Tipping Point
Most students manage their loads most of the time, but small changes in circumstance may be enough to disrupt the status quo and push them toward the tipping point. Diminishing returns occur when high-level scheduling leads to stress, exhaustion, burnout, mood swings, headaches, stomach aches, and declining academic performance. There is no best fit for all, rather, devise the best fit for your child’s needs.
Mrs Rowena Barnett, Director of Student Futures at PLC Sydney, notes that colleges and universities value quality and depth of experience over a long, fragmented list of activities, which is important to consider, especially in senior years of high school. They prefer to hear about what you have learned or how you have grown from this activity, rather than you having simply done 20 different activities. Participation, enthusiasm, stickability and reliability count more than sheer numbers.
But how do you make the difficult decision to reduce or reprioritise your co-curricular activities?
Watch for these red flags that may indicate the need for a schedule rethink:
- Physical: Frequent fatigue, trouble sleeping, or recurring headaches and stomach aches.
- Emotional: High stress levels, mood swings with little or reduced control.
- Academic/Behavioural: Struggling to complete homework, declining grades, or a desire to withdraw from social life.
- Structural: Very little free time most days, losing touch with close friends, zero or few ‘free lunch times’ especially in younger years.
- Parental Strain: Do we, as parents, feel exhausted most of the time or spend more time in the car than at home, how is our own emotional control?
Finding Your Family’s Balance
It’s a journey of trial and error, but it starts with a conversation.
Consider these strategies:
- Collaborate: Decisions should be made with your daughter, not just for her. Ask her how she feels about her current commitments.
- Protect Downtime: Every child needs unstructured, screen-free time. Aim for commitment-free days allowing for rest and "boredom."
- "Drop One to Add One" Rule: Want a new activity?, ensure it replaces an existing one rather than adding to the overall load.
- Individualise & Diversity: Some students thrive on structure, others need more space to rest and play. A mix of activities across the week, whether in or out of school, is helpful. Evaluate the schedule based on physicality (growing bodies need about an hour of physical activity each day), social opportunities, intellectual and downtime. Family dinners, game nights, reading and playtime could provide the goals we are after without scheduling another event.
It may feel like another time-consuming thing to stop and find the ‘sweet spot’ or the ‘best fit’ for our children and the whole family. Feel free to reach out to the PLC Sydney Well-being Team for guidance or support. Asking the questions, evaluating and discussing the current state of play is a great start.
