Extra-curricular activities. How many activities are too many?

This is a debate I often have with myself and those around me.

You see, I grew up in a home where we were encouraged to be involved in as much as we could juggle- to the point we were always on the go. My husband, on the other hand, did not. Each child had their one activity and school.

I believe the extra stuff kids can be involved in builds character, challenges them, helps define who they want to be and teaches discipline.  Granted, you can do all of those things at home and in school- but I believe these activities  can provide more real world examples.  Also, many of these activities teach them sportsmanship and a healthy sense of competitiveness or can show examples of unsportsmanlike behavior.  Either way, they are learning a valuable lesson.

We are also raising our children in a time where obesity is on the rise.    Kids today want to be “inside kids” and play computer games or video games or watch television.  Most of the extra-curricular activities help with that fight, even if the activity isn’t aerobic.

For every extra activity we add to our child’s life, there is an upside.  But with each activity we add, we are taking away from family time or free play time.

I swore that when I had kids, they would be able to involved in absolutely everything that interested them.

Now that I’m a mom, I wonder if they are involved in too much. Both of my girls are really happy and love what they are doing and keep begging for more lessons. But the trade off has been that they don’t have time for friends aside from school and the kids in their lessons.  Also our nights are spent running to and from lessons rather than playing together.

A good friend of mine allows each child to have one physical activity and one musical activity. Mine? They are in as many classes as we can fit in our evenings.

What about you?  How many activities do you involve your children in?  How many is too many?