Summary Of Anna Quindlen Doing Nothing Is Something

Imagine the days when a child's biggest problem was getting home before the streetlights came on. Today, children don’t get that experience. The author compares the average experience of students today to her own life at this age. Her main point is that children are being overrun by having a surplus of activities to attend to. In her time, people sat and pondered outside instead of keeping busy with something. Today's students are being deprived of boredom, therefore losing creativity because parents are overloading their schedule with meaningless activities that take time away from creative thinking. Anna Quindlen, writer for the New York Times and author of “Doing Nothing Is Something”, explains how boredom inspires creativity and innovative thinking, and that today’s children lack the free time to have this pivotal experience. Quindlen discusses the lack
Many people can relate to needing a moment for themselves, but sometimes it is to the detriment of their family. Unfortunately, many parents believe they have to kickoff their children in all available extracurricular activities to get them ahead in their future. Quindlen expresses, “There is also the culture of cutthroat and unquestioning competition that leads even the parents of preschoolers to gab about prestigious colleges without a trace of irony.”. Parents, often unknowingly, tend to push their own ideas of what their children’s future should look like from a young age. They enroll in countless extracurricular activities in order for their college applications to look appealing. Part of the reason behind this is that parents don’t want to be embarrassed or seem lazy in front of their peers. They want to assure others that their child will be successful once they become an adult. Parents want to keep their children busy so they can have time for