Every parent knows that a poorly organized tangle of kids\u2019 activities is a recipe for a migraine. As school starts up again, so does sports season, and your kids\u2019 extracurricular ambitions pile up like the falling autumn leaves. Don\u2019t let yourself get burned out. Here are some tips to stay sane in the midst of the extracurricular whirlwind.<\/p>\n
Consolidate all your scheduling, jotting, and activity-tracking into one system. Let\u2019s get one thing straight: You can\u2019t afford to be scrawling \u201cAbby piano lesson rescheduled 9\/21\u201d on the first scrap of paper you come across. That doesn\u2019t mean you have to be hyper-organized, but it does mean that you need to keep your entire calendar in one place, whether that place is Google Calendar, a fridge whiteboard, or the old-fashioned standby: a calendar with a lighthouse on every page. One particularly attractive option is the Cozi app (cozi.com), which not only consolidates an entire family\u2019s calendars, but allows you to include to-do lists, shopping lists, recipes, chore checklists, and more. Whichever system you choose, keep it updated. Its word is law.<\/p>\n
Form parent alliances. Those soccer practices Jacob\u2019s going to? There are other teammates there, and they have parents shuttling them around, just like you are. Set up carpools \u2014 Noah\u2019s mom drives them both Tuesday while you\u2019ve got Thursdays \u2014 to manage scheduling conflicts between your kids and drastically reduce the time you spend as a chauffeur. To simplify the process and make sure everyone\u2019s on the same page, check out the Carpool-Kids app at carpool-kids.com. It\u2019ll let you directly invite other parents and set up weekly or one-shot carpool schedules.<\/p>\n
Maintain balance. You almost certainly will need to say no to additional extracurricular activities every now and then. Sure, simultaneous baseball, football, and soccer seasons might seem healthy and fun for your kid, but you need to consider your own needs, as well. Many parents give their children free rein over what to choose, but limit activities to one or two per season. Johnny wants to do underwater basket weaving? Strange choice, but sure \u2014 though he\u2019ll have to abandon either fencing or ice hockey. Make sure you weigh each child\u2019s needs equally, and keep the rules the same for each of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Demystify Your Kids’ Overstuffed Schedules and Get Your Life Back Every parent knows that a poorly organized tangle of kids\u2019 activities is a recipe for a migraine. As school starts up again, so does sports season, and your kids\u2019 extracurricular ambitions pile up like the falling autumn leaves. Don\u2019t let yourself get burned out. Here […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-newsletter"],"yoast_head":"\n