Saving money on kids' activities - try school!

After weeks of VH1's, "I Know My Kid's a Star," a Timestory is a reminder that high schools (and middle schools) offer a financially and emotionally viable theater alternative. The Time story is really about the trend toward high schools taking on shows that are "new and edgy;" rather than the old favorites like "Oklahoma," and "Guys and Dolls." I'll get to the "edgy" issue - but the Time story reminds me that there is a much better option to investing significant parental resources into kids' activities.

For too many American families, childhood is now all about lessons. The result is over-scheduled, stressed, competitive, self-conscious kids - and their parental counterparts. Suppose your child has a theatrical flair - many do. Like the VH1 parents, you can opt to drive from acting and improvisation to voice lessons, to portrait studios and auditions, to agents. If you think for a moment that your child doesn't feel pressure to succeed from all that parental investment, (s)he does. It's all about competition.