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Are we over scheduling kids during summer? It depends on who you ask.

Summer. Excitement, freedom, boredom -- stress. Many working parents struggle with how to balance their kids lives with their work schedules. From summer camps to vacations to free time -- are we over scheduling our kids?

Summer. Freedom to play and do what you want when you want. Let's face it: nowadays, most kids' summers are filled with less play time and more structure.

“They are busy. These kids are really busy,” said Sue Adams, a grandmother visiting from Washington State.

“My son told me when he got out of school that he doesn't get a summer break,” Stacie Jonas, a mother of two, said.

The summer struggle is real for working parents.

“Both my husband and I work full-time and we don't have any family here in the area. So we are always looking for activities for our kids in the summer,” said Jonas.

Like many parents, Jonas schedules her kids for camp after camp. It's stressful and expensive.

“My kids would tell you they feel over scheduled,” Jonas said.

A recent study published in the Washington Post found there are some benefits to kids being over scheduled, however.

Kids who are over scheduled tend to have higher self-esteem, the study says. They're able to find more balance later in life and have lower rates of drug and alcohol abuse over time.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are other studies that suggest kids who are over scheduled suffer from lack of motivation, burnout, fatigue.

“If they're at camp every week, that's all very structured. They've got adults telling them what to do every day, all day long and they get frustrated by that,” said Bruce Ravenscraft, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked with children for 25 years. “If you want to raise a resilient child, you need to raise them to have some independence, to be self reliant and also to self regulate their emotions and their behaviors. They can't do that if you're with them all the time and controlling everything that they do. They need chances to make mistakes and learn from them."

That can be tough when you have younger children, multiple children, no family in town or when you have to work.

“Our work is important and it's necessary and yet you want to be there and be present for your kids. So it's always just a struggle to keep that balance,” said Jonas, who does take a few weeks to take family vacations with her kids.

Grandparents like Sue Adams offer kindly perspective.

“It goes fast,” Adams said.

If you're lucky, you get 18 summers with your kids. Think about that: 18.

Sue remembers when her children were this young. Grandchildren have given her a second chance to stop, put down her phone, get back to the basics, which is something she wishes other families would do.

“We don't want somebody else raising our kids,” said Adams. “We want them to have our values and remember their childhood doing things as a family. That was always important to me. That's what we all want for our kids and I think it's why we have kids.”

Good reminders that summer is just as much about connecting with your kids as it is incorporating learning and fun.

You also don't' want your kids to fall behind. So, make sure you do take time to have them read to you over the summer break.

If you’re looking for something that doesn’t cost a lot of money, try some home projects. Work with your children to plant a garden. Or maybe download a movie editing app and have them edit a movie or music video. Or help out a neighbor by mowing their lawn or picking weeds.

And if you need some last minute camp suggestions, here are a few. Some still have openings.

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