export_ofoct.com (78)

[00:00.63] Abidemi: So Rory, talking about schedules, do you ever think that life is too busy or too much that we’re trying to fit too many things?

[00:08.63] Rory: Maybe for some people. Not for me, actually.

[00:11.63] I take life quite slowly. But I noticed with my daughter that we’re always sort of rushing her to do things.

[00:19.38] So when she comes home from school, she has to do her homework.

[00:30.88] And then one night a week, she has to go to swimming then she has piano, then she has like an acrobat lesson.

[00:31.63] When I was a kid, we did nothing after school, you know.

[00:32.63] We went to the park by ourselves and played.

[00:34.38] But nothing was scheduled, so we just did what we wanted.

[00:37.13] Abidemi: I see.

[00:37.88] Rory: So do you think like kids today, we try and make them do too much or they try and do too much.

[00:43.88] Abidemi: That’s a really good question. And I think, yes, you’re right.

[00:46.88] It feels like a lot – that we expect a lot more from kids these days.

[00:53.13] Whereas similar to your background too, when I was growing up, I thought sometimes that I was bored out of my mind because there was just nothing really much to do except for maybe going to the library and borrow some books to read.

[01:06.13] And I had all the time in the world to read them.

[01:09.63] But these days, you see kids running around trying to do it all. Play soccer or some kind of sports or do some club activities or just something.

[01:19.88] They are always busy, the kids I see around me. So…

[01:23.38] Rory: Yeah. Yeah. I think we’re trying to make them maybe grow up too quickly or do too much too soon.

[01:28.38] When I was kid, you could sort of find our own path.

[01:31.38] You know, when you became a teenager, when you start to get to university, starting to make these choices.

[01:36.88] But now, parents seem to – okay, the kid is going to do piano and they’re going to do soccer and they’re going to study hard for, you know, exams, do extra math tuition. I don’t know if kids can handle it.

[01:49.63] Abidemi: I don’t know either. It also seems that it comes with our world today.

[01:54.13] It’s a lot more competitive. And what I’ve heard is like people are trying to prepare their kids as much as possible.

[02:02.38] I’ve heard, for some universities, you need to show that you can handle a lot.

[02:05.38] Rory: Right.

[02:06.13] Abidemi: And because everybody is the same place, they’re all racing for the same positions that if you don’t distinguish yourself in some way, you can't make it.

[02:16.88] Rory: Yeah.

[02:17.63] Abidemi: So in response to that, parents are trying to pile as much on the kids as possible.

[02:23.13] Rory: Yeah. I was reading something that said that employers really look now for extra-curricular things that kids do.

[02:29.88] So not just their grades but what clubs were they members of.

[02:33.88] Were they acting in the theater, were they a member of a sports team and these things seem to be becoming more important now.

[02:40.14] Abidemi: Than just school work.

[02:41.88] Rory: Yeah. Yeah.

[02:42.38] Abidemi: I think it’s a shame. I like the way I grew up. Yeah.

[02:46.13] I’ll like if my kids could have a bit more freedom but I can also see that with the way the world is going, I would probably be anxious for them to do as much as possible so that they can have the best in the future.

[03:01.63] Rory: Yeah, because it’s a balance between giving them the freedom and then giving them the opportunities to excel at various things.

[03:07.13] Abidemi: There you go. That’s it. Yeah.