When did Childhood and Parenthood become so busy?

Yesterday, my whole family went out together -- the five of us.

We went somewhere in Singapore, spent time together, and simply enjoyed being out.

And this, which is something that is supposed to be normal, felt strangely unfamiliar.

I’m not sure exactly when it started, but for quite some time now, my weekends have revolved around bringing my three kids to different classes. With three children and three different schedules, there is always someone who needs to be somewhere. So for most weekends, and many weekday evenings after school, we spend time driving them for some sort of classes, waiting, picking them up, and then repeating the cycle.

And somehow, this has become normal. And in fact, this is normalised.

When I talk to other parents with children around the same age, I hear the same thing. Weekends are not filled with family activities, instead it's filled with tuition or some other enrichment classes.

With three children, finding a time when all three are actually free at the same time is becoming surprisingly difficult.

Which makes me wonder: Is this really what childhood and parenthood is all about?

I understand why I do what I do.

Of course I want my children to do well in their exams. If tuition helps prepare better for an exam, then yes, I'll enroll them into it.

Then for enrichment, we sign them up for activities because we want them to learn something beyond academics. And maybe  that enrichment could eventually become a skill, an interest, or even an advantage.

I sometimes feel like we are already quite relaxed  (or not doing enough) compared with some of the parents around us.  Some of our friends are actively helping their children work towards one DSA pathway or another. Others are building up portfolios, entering competitions, collecting certificates of achievements and so on. We are already not doing that. 

But even then, their calendars are getting pretty full. And their childhood is simply going from one class to another, plus two vacations overseas per year. 

And that brings me back to yesterday. A family outing on Sunday, shouldn't it be a norm?  When did it become so rare.

I am rethinking some of the enrichments, maybe, it's time to cut off some of the things, and make time for free time. Spending free time meaningfully might be a better enrichment.