Kids Overscheduled During Summer Months, Experts Say

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Many parents think they need to keep their children busy all summer, but experts say too much scheduling may be a bad thing.

With so many children overscheduled during the school year, experts say downtime is critical over the summer.

A lot of kids get up way too early and are going to bed way too late, because they're basically scheduled from the minute they wake up till the minute they go to sleep.

Dr. Corinn Cross of the American Academy of Pediatrics said parents should try to build reasonable schedules for their kids during the summer -- for instance, taking one week at camp and then scheduling some down time.

Parents should also talk to their children and see what they want to accomplish over the break, Cross said.