Parents, it’s time to chill.
A pediatric nurse practitioner is going viral for telling moms and dads to pump the brakes on ballet, soccer, piano and Kumon — because their kids are heading toward total burnout before they even hit first grade.
Mary Catherine, aka @the.mom.np on Instagram, is fed up with families turning into full-time Uber services, shuttling little ones from one extracurricular to the next with zero downtime in between.
“This might ruffle some feathers, but it’s a hill I will die on as a pediatric nurse and mom to young kids… I firmly believe we are starting our kids in organized sports/ activities WAY TOO EARLY,” she wrote in a recent post.
“My daughter is in kindergarten and most of her classmates are involved in 2-3 after-school activities/ sports. That’s A LOT.”
Her prescription? Ditch the jam-packed schedules and give kids more time to just be kids.
“Free play still needs to be prioritized in elementary age and younger kids. This is CRUCIAL,” she continued.
Catherine swears by the “one activity at a time” rule in her house for her two young kids — and experts say she’s onto something.
“In my clinical experience, I’ve seen that children—especially those in early elementary years—who are consistently over-scheduled often present with signs of chronic distress,” Zishan Khan, MD, a psychiatric clinician, backed her up, telling Parents in a recent interview.
Think: anxiety, trouble sleeping, mysterious stomachaches and enough sick days to rival flu season.
“The developing brain and body need downtime to process, grow and recover,” Khan added.
Catherine emphasized the importance of letting kids engage in free play — the unfiltered, imaginative kind that doesn’t require uniforms, scoreboards or permission slips.
Khan agreed, calling free play “critical” to childhood development.
“Through play, children learn to regulate their emotions, collaborate with others and develop a healthy sense of self,” he said.
And while many parents might already be trying to squeeze in more free time for their kids, they still feel like it’s not enough.
As The Post previously reported, the average child already racks up 10 hours of play daily — split between parents, solo time and playing with friends or siblings — but three-quarters of parents say they still wish their child had more time for creative, unstructured play.
An overwhelming 92% of parents believe that kind of play is key to their child’s growth and development — and they’re not wrong.
The top play activities? Physical games like dancing and ball tossing won out, followed by social play that involves sharing and teamwork.
And while screen time is still part of the equation — kids clock about two hours a day on devices — most parents agree: off-screen play is crucial.
Parents are also doing their part to keep curiosity alive.
The same survey found they answer an average of 14 questions a day from their pint-sized philosophers — and many even study up to keep up.
In the end, the experts and the data agree: When it comes to childhood, play isn’t a luxury — it’s essential.
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