By Harper A.

Pre-teens and teens are over-scheduled. They do not have time to just sit and think. They are always somewhere else rushing from one place to the other. When pre-teens and teens are over-scheduled, it makes an impact on your whole body and mental health. Kids stop enjoying their activities and become very stressed. They also become anxious. It can mess with their sleep, homework time, and creativity. 

The first reason why pre-teens and teens should not be over-scheduled is because it will sometimes affect their sleep. If you are over-scheduled, you could have parties or sleepovers that could reduce your sleep. This is bad because sleep lets you have a break after a big day, and most importantly, it gives you energy. According to the CDC, teens need 8-10 hours of sleep per 24 hours, and pre-teens need 9-12 hours of sleep.

Another reason why pre-teens and teens should not be over-scheduled is because you won’t have enough time for all your homework. When you get in middle school and high school, you have lots of homework. Some kids don’t do any activities after school because they have homework to finish. If you have lots of activities after school, you won’t have much time to work on your homework. Not doing your homework can affect your grades and this might prevent you from getting into a good college in the future. According to ASCD, homework and being over-scheduled doesn't mix well.  Students don’t have enough time for their homework so they feel stressed. Then they don’t get a good grade and get more stressed than they were. Being over-scheduled can affect your learning in school.

The most important reason why pre-teens and teens should not be over-scheduled is because it affects their creativity. Teens and pre-teens can lack creativity because it comes from boredom. If you are over-scheduled, you don't have much time to think and be bored. Creativity helps you have good ideas and see life in a different perspective than you would if you are not creative. According to the Cleveland Clinic, most kids have no idea what to do if their parents tell them to go play outside and have fun. This is because they are use to parents that schedule all their waking moments. But free play is important. Playing is being creative like inventing a new fun game, playing a fun game you have not played before, or even just talking and making up stories outside.

In conclusion, pre-teens and teens should not be over-scheduled. Teens and pre-teens should be creative and have fun. They should make time to work on homework and get enough sleep every night. Having a looser schedule will also reduce stress.