Anna Quindlen Doing Nothing Is Something Summary

In today’s fast-paced society, people are generally overscheduled, overwhelmed, and have minimal free time in their everyday lives, does it matter? Author Anna Quindlen wrote “Doing Nothing is Something” where her main focus of downtime is often dismissed as boredom, which is crucial for the well-being of children. Children should not be forced into a full schedule, as they need time to explore creativity within themselves. Anna Quindlen, writer for the New York Times and author of “Doing Nothing is Something,” challenges the purpose of the over-scheduling of America’s youth. Quindlen reflects nostalgically on her childhood summers, filled with unstructured time that she believes was crucial for personal and creative growth. She argues that

Quindlen advocates allowing children to be bored, especially during the summer, believing this unregulated time is necessary for mental exploration and creative advancement. In contrast, children today face an abundance of structured activities that infringe on their downtime. To further elaborate, downtime is when people can relax, play the video games they want to, ride their bikes, or take a walk in the park. Structured activities eat into that time. It is important to let children explore their minds because “Downtime is where we become ourselves, looking into the middle distance, kicking at the curb, lying on the grass or sitting on the stoop and staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky” (Quindlen). Consequently, downtime is when humans get to sit down and relax. When people relax, they find peace of mind and can look into space while not having a care in their minds. It is not only recommended, but needed every day, especially for children. Downtime helps shape children for their futures and the everyday experiences they will encounter

Quindlen explains the lack of trust some parents have in their children. She observed, “There is a culture of adult distrust that suggests that a kid who is not playing softball or attending science-enrichment programs--or both--is huffing or boosting cars: if kids are left alone, they will not stare into the middle distance and consider the meaning of life and how come your nose in pictures never looks the way you think it should, but instead will get into trouble.” (Quindlen). Not only do the described parents think that enrichment programs are positive for their children, but they think without them they will get into trouble, essentially making them guilty without reason. This not only causes distrust between the parents and their children, but can also lead to problems in the future. If a child hasn’t given a reason to distrust them, then there shouldn’t be a reason to not allow them to make their own decisions, especially when the child is young. From a viewer's perspective, you can see both sides of the