Anna Quindlen Doing Nothing Is Something Analysis

Are We Over Scheduling Our Children? Anna Quindlen is the author of the excerpt “Doing Nothing is Something.” The author, formally a New York Times journalist, remains a best-selling author of children’s books. In the excerpt “Doing Nothing is Something,” Quindlen hypothesizes that children these days are over scheduled by the amount of organized activities planned by the children’s parents. Such erroneous philosophies have been disputed in defense of structured, extracurricular activities. The following examination of these contrasting opinions will indeed show that children are not being over scheduled just because they participate in one or two structured activities, and in fact, children thrive when their lives are structured. Quindlen theorizes that today’s children are suffering from not being allowed

The authors found that there was little to no evidence that children were truly being over scheduled. According to their research, “American youth average about 5 hours/week participating in organized activities. At any given time, roughly 40% of young people in the US do not participate in organized activities and those who do typically spend less than 10 hours/week participating” (Mahoney, Harris, Eccles). The quote above exposes the reality of the situation. Children today are not being bothered by these hefty schedules. The times have changed from the days when the average American child “lays bored on the ground staring at the sky.” The children of today are showing more interest in becoming involved. It may be the parents, who pick up the summer activities pamphlets, but it is the children that ultimately decide whether or not to go; children who desire the enjoyment and fulfillment of extracurricular activities,