ACHIEVEMENT KIDS & ACTIVITY CULTURE: When Success Becomes a SOURCE of Stress by Julianna Steen
12 AUGUST 2026 | BIRMINGHAMPARENT.COM MENTAL HEALTH Turns out Activity Culture can actually prove detrimental to kids’ health, despite the fact it’s supposed to make them healthier little humans. An article by Mindset describing a 2024 study correlates an excess of activities sleep—seem to fall through the cracks. Not to mention the damage overscheduling does on children’s mental health. WHY ACTIVITY CULTURE IS TOXIC It’s practically become a competition between kids to see who can be the busiest and most “accomplished.” After all, busy = well-rounded = successful, right? Yet as the pace of life speeds up, it seems the important things—like unstructured free play, family time (including eating together!), and I .n days gone by, children used to roam outside playing until dark; now, “free time” has been replaced by the hustle of club sports, competitive cheer, ACT tutoring, and a hodgepodge of school-related club meetings. If you feel like a full-time, unpaid Uber driver, you’re not alone. Today’s children have full-length résumés before they have driver’s licenses. A 6th grader recently shared with me her future career goals and potential colleges with her intended major. It’s one thing to think about your “dream job” at 12 years old—it’s another to seriously consider what you need to do to be admitted to college. You don’t have to look hard to see that the pressure is rising—and social media only compounds the fears that drive many to over- achieve. The pressure isn’t only on kids to succeed, though; it’s on parents to engineer that success.
and homework with anxiety and depression in kids.
“divide and conquer” parenting situation. In fact, Aspen Institute’s Parent Survey reports parents average over three hours per day on their child’s sport activities, with over an hour of that devoted to attending practices and competitions. Three hours? you might question… until you factor in the hours you spend carting your kids to and from practices and games. “Oh, it’s just for a month or two,” you might say—except the same survey also found that over 20 percent of parents have a child that participates in scheduled practices or competitions in their primary sport 9 to 12 months a year. Aka, all. year. long. HOW SPORTS CONVEY STATUS Let’s be real: There is a legit “elite” status connected to youth sports—both for kids and for their parents. When recalling her children’s introduction to sports, author Linda Flanagan writes in Take Back the Game , “It wasn’t long before I started noticing how athletic ability, even among elementary school kids, conferred prestige. For though it goes unsaid, physically gifted children do indeed gain status, as do [their] humble parents….” But status isn’t just conferred because of skill level—it’s also usually a measure of the wealth a family already possesses. Unfortunately, that status comes with a hefty price tag. THE FINANCIAL WEIGHT The Aspen Institute Parent Survey reveals that families in the sample spent an average of $1,015.64 annually on their child’s primary sport—and approximately $475 on their child’s other sports. Bill Lennon wrote in his 2017 article for Medium , “The average cost
“There’s a point where a child could still boost his academic skills by doing another hour of homework or tutoring,” writer Jill Barshay explains, “but it would come at the expense of mental well-being.”While it initially proves beneficial for the child, this overworking ends up “making students more anxious, depressed, or angry.” But Activity Culture affects more than mental health—it also leads to less healthy eating habits. PHYSICAL HEALTH I’m not arguing against youth sports—there’s no denying the many benefits, including teamwork, communication, resilience, and health. But you might be surprised at the repercussions of overdoing it. The 2024 National Youth Sports Parent Survey by Aspen Institute reports that over 35 percent of the parents in their sample “believe that their family’s youth sport commitments contribute to less healthy eating habits.” The same study reveals that most families (56.3 percent) eat two to four meals out per week because of their child’s sport schedule, and “slightly more than 1 in 10 families eat five to seven meals out per week” for the same reason. Not only is it important for children to eat healthy, it’s even more important for young athletes to eat well in order to prevent injury, help muscles recover, and improve their energy levels. FAMILY HEALTH Another way Activity Culture robs your family is by cutting down on family time. Getting the kids where they need to go is a game of strategy, and most nights it’s a
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