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EDINA UNPLUGGED! MARCH 9TH

By Kim Melin

Real Estate Sales Representative with Edina Realty

February 13, 2009 07:30 AM

http://www.edinaunplugged.org/

Kids want more unscheduled time to spend with their families.
"Edina Unplugged" is part of our community's response to
that request. We are also building on the experience and initiatives of other communities. Barbara Z. Carlson and William J. Doherty, Ph.D. authors of Putting Family First: Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World, began a grass-roots organization in Wayzata, MN called "Putting Family First. " This group is dedicated to finding balance in our overscheduled lives, and organized Wayzata's first family night in March 2005. Visit their website at www.puttingfamilyfirst.org. Their "research" and "FAQ" pages are especially good, and they have some nice ideas for things to do in the backyard and while driving,
as well as recipes, conversation starters, and bedtime rituals.

Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D. (author, with Nicole Wise, of The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap (formerly titled Hyper-Parenting: Are you Hurting Your Child by Trying Too Hard?) has created National Family Night/Family Night a Month. Read their mission statement at www.familynightamonth.org; don't miss

the interesting collection of newspaper articles at the bottom of the page. You can also check out the site for Rosenfeld's book at http://www.hyper-parenting.com/start.htm, and read a transcript of his talk to parents on "Harvard, Soccer, Over-Scheduled Families."

For further reading, see:

"Are We Pushing Our Kids Too Hard?" This article, originally published in Psychology Today Jan/Feb 2003, discusses what children miss out on when they're overscheduled, and what parents can do.

"Is Your Child Too Busy?" Good tips for recognizing signs that your child is too busy, and ways to slow things down.

"Overscheduled Children" Nice perspective.

"Is Your Child Overscheduled and Overstressed?" A University of Michigan update on the issues including links to more articles.