Three year old Alex Huerta loves playing baseball with his mom, Heather. She says playtime allows Alex to control the agenda.

“It makes them feel important and they get to pick and show you what they’re interested in and the playtime is much more fun if Alex gets to guide it and show me what he wants to do.”

Instead of becoming a slave to routine, doctors are prescribing unstructured playtime like this for younger kids and simple down time for the older ones. Report author Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg says real play is healthy for your kids.

“The ‘truer’ the toy, the better the play; blocks, jump ropes, sticks, crayons, dolls, things where you have to use your imagination fully. Play builds your social, your emotional, your cognitive intelligence. All of that stuff, that is protective.”

But often parents believe they have to structure every minute of their kids’ time – running from activity to activity. Psychologist Alvin Rosenfeld says downtime is essential.

“Boredom serves a purpose. It lets you imagine, create new worlds, and lets you hear your own voice.”

Focus on the Family’s George Weidmaier says too hectic of a schedule will create, rather than relieve stress.

“There’s a culture that we live in that it’s not necessarily for our health. So I think it’s important to understand that, with all these messages coming to us, how is our balance?”