She started feeling better almost immediately. Plus, The quality of children’s diets in the United States
ing with their children is holding steady, the overall pic- “Instead of playing for hours in the park, they get
she had more time to foster healthy family habits. “I ranked next to last — and part of this dynamic is be-
ture of how they interact has almost certainly changed. driven to games and actually spend less time play-
became more conscious about how we ate. We started cause of overscheduling: The study showed that only
ing,” he says. (For more on kids and exercise, see
In the past, family time was spent sharing meals, do-
eating meals together at the table and having conver- 47 percent of American children regularly eat break-
“The Young and Not-So-Restless: Assessing Your Kid’s
ing household chores together or just “hanging out,”
sations. The kids started participating more in cook- fast; only 65 percent regularly share family dinners
Activity Level.”)
says University of Minnesota social scientist William
ing meals, too, and learning about what to eat, how to compared with an 80 percent average in Europe and
Doherty, PhD, coauthor of Putting Family First: Suc- Just as important as the time and energy families
select it and how to make it,” she says. more than 90 percent, specifically, in Italy, the Nether-
cessful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a are putting out is the energy and nourishment they
lands, France, Switzerland and Belgium.
“I’ve also had more time to help them make better
Hurry-Up World (Holt, 2002). Today, that informal are taking in: Overscheduling typically leads to fewer
choices, whether about physical health, such as going Time pressures threaten adults’ health, as well
family time has all but disappeared — replaced by a meals eaten together as a family — and more un-
for walks instead of collapsing in front of the TV, or — something parents who want to be around for
form of parenting that some experts see as more akin healthy convenience foods eaten on the run.
mental health — taking the time to talk through situa- their kids’ college graduations would do well to keep
to product development.
Today, “we eat more in our cars or in fast-food restau-
tions with them.” in mind. A 2006 study by the National Institutes of
In the race to help children “achieve” and “suc- rants,” says Doherty. “We’ve seen a one-third drop in
Health and the British Health Service found that after
Pelton learned from experience what many of us know
ceed,” many parents are scheduling their children’s the number of families that eat dinner together. This is
age 55, Americans were nearly twice as likely as their
in our bones: Time is a key factor in creating a healthy,
days tightly and well in advance. Gone are the days a problem, because nutritionists have found that meals
U.K. counterparts to suffer from such chronic ailments
happy family. And while taking a lengthy vacation like
of hanging out together in the kitchen or puttering prepared at home mean better nourishment and fewer
as heart disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
Pelton’s isn’t a bad way to reboot a broken system, the
around in the yard. A significant portion of family “to- unhealthy fats and sugars, which means less obesity.”
key to maintaining healthier patterns is integrating What gives? The British smoke and drink more and eat
gether time” is now spent with parents chauffeuring
Finally, when we do find ourselves with a little down-
small, daily priority shifts that can be sustained over just as much sugar and fat as we do — but they work
kids to activities or watching them compete.
time, we’re often so tired from racing around that we
time. Here are some perspectives and ideas to get you fewer hours, are more physically active and experi-
And where do these busy parents find the time? Like gravitate toward passive, rather than active, entertain-
and your family started down a healthier path. ence less overall stress. They also socialize more with
Pelton, many parents skimp on time for self-care and ments. The average American teenager now spends
friends and family, an activity that turns out to be one
The Time-Health Connection (Back to Top) The simple
sleep. Studies by the National Sleep Foundation indi- about half of his or her waking hours hooked to some
of the most important single factors in health out-
act of rushing is stressful in itself. But our rush-rush
cate that pressed-for-time adults are now sleeping an kind of electronic media. Parents, too, overwhelmed
comes, and that requires — you guessed it — free time.
routines often cascade into a whole variety of un-
hour less each night than they did a generation ago, by workaday fatigue, often watch TV several hours
healthy habits and compromises. Convenience eat- Time Traps (Back to Top) Perhaps the most diabolical
with all kinds of negative implications for their health each day. The opportunities for real, shared, intimate
ing, skimpy sleep, minimal time for exercise or stress time gobbler is work. Longer work hours have become
— and mood. connections in such screen-oriented settings are few.
relief, and dwindling availability for emotional con- the norm for most people in the United States today,
Whatever kids stand to gain from all their extracur- How to Transform Time (Back to Top) The forces that
nections — all these things undermine our health and and Americans consistently work more hours each
ricular activities, there are net losses for them, too. keep us separated and distracted are many and pow-
well-being. And they pose particular risks for children. year than workers in virtually every other industrial-
An overly packed activities schedule can leave kids as erful, but it is possible to fight time poverty and win.
ized country. (For more on how Americans stack up
In the 2007 UNICEF study Child Well-Being in Rich
rushed and stressed as their parents, siphoning off the Here are some ways to reclaim the valuable time it
against the rest of the world in free time, see “No-Va-
Countries, the United States ranked second to last.
time both parties have available for just talking and takes to keep a family healthy and strong:
cation Nation” in the March 2008 archives.)
Here is just one reason why: 25 percent of American
sorting through the day’s joys and challenges.
Assess Start by making a list of the commitments that
children between the ages of 13 and 15 are over- Somehow, even despite their longer workdays, moms
Kids may also lose out on opportunities for free, un- are monopolizing your time. Ask yourself questions
weight — the highest percentage in the world and and dads are still determinedly spending time with
structured play, a vital activity that begets creativity about each commitment: Are you spending more time
triple the figure in the Netherlands, the top-ranked their children. The whole issue of what constitutes
and ingenuity and sharpens problem-solving skills. In at work than you have in the past, or are you taking
country in the study. “quality time” is a matter of debate, but one thing is
fact, Doherty argues that overemphasizing competitive work home? How many commitments do you have
certain: If the total amount of time parents are spend-
sports often means kids get less, not more, exercise. outside of home and work? How satisfying is each
Continued on page 90
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