Can you remember the last time your child just played, doing nothing in particular? Research confirms the value of downtime, giving kids the opportunity to relax and clear their minds. With careful planning, parents can achieve a balance between downtime, homework, study, and extracurricular activities.

Youngsters need some unstructured free time in which to think, create and experience being a child. Reading under a tree and daydreaming have healthy benefits. Families have little time together due to the necessities of life. Shared meals and relaxing are dwindling in a rush of sports activities and dance lessons.

In the past two decades, national studies have indicated that structured sports time has doubled, unstructured activities declined by 50 percent, household conversations are far less frequent, family dinners declined 33 percent, and family vacations decreased by 28 percent. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Research has consistently shown that the more kids have dinner with their families, the less chance they will smoke, drink, or do drugs. They are also more likely to do well in school and go to one or more parents with a serious problem.

The fourth Monday in September was recognized as Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children. If family schedules are keeping you from having dinner together a few times a week, you may want to examine whether you are over scheduled.

Some children are so stressed over the amount of homework and frequency of tests that they can't even enjoy family time. If your child is staying up too late to study and complete homework, speak to someone at his or her school. Time to discuss a child's school day is becoming rare. Don't let this happen with your children. This time cannot be recaptured.

Before your child takes on any activities, sit down and make decisions regarding how many they should commit to and which have a higher priority. Remind them that they are all optional. As children grow, they will remember time spent with family rather than all the outside activities. The benefits of cuddling, sharing a story and doing little things together are great and will resonate.

Parents and children should discuss activities and the time and commitments that accompany them. Remember balance in the 24-hour day. Allow time for your child to relax and for family members to enjoy one another.

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