Time Pressures On Rural Teens

Time demands and rural life. Rural life is supposedly life in the slow lane. It can be and often is. But rural life can be and often is incredibly time-pressured. For those who are in leadership roles, have talent and are community minded, rural life rivals and surpasses big city life for sheer activity and busyness.

Rural people are needed. Why is that? First, the ratio of people to community institutions and opportunities to serve is dramatically small. There are no surplus people. Everyone who can and wants to be is included.

In this environment, a number of people get involved in everything. Others get involved in their specialized interests. Still others hang back and don't contribute to community life. The needs are indeed great and a busy few carry a disproportionate load.

Relationships are important in rural communities. Relationships take time. Relationships carry important social obligations. Another layer of busyness is added when rural people attend funerals, baptisms, baby showers, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations and generally support each other through both special and hard times.

Farming and ranching has its own need-based time orientation. The work comes first, whatever the clock may say. The rhythms of planting, harvesting, calving, and other time-sensitive tasks take priority over other obligations. Fortunately, there are down times and the self-employed can schedule in periods of respite.

Youth activities. Rural youth experience similar time pressures. Their schools attempt to duplicate as many choices as they can to mirror bigger schools. Rural teens find they are needed in a variety of ways. There are three sport seasons for both sexes, practices, out-of-town games, choir, band, drama, yearbook, student government, honor society, language club, etc., The difference from a big school is that it is the same kids who are doing it all.

Add to that community programs like 4H, FFA and church youth groups, and you have some incredibly busy youth. If there is a big city within a reasonable commuting distance, then there might be specialized lessons or training too.

Where do homework and academics fit into these busy lives? Rural people talk about kids collapsing from fatigue, burning out on their favorite extracurricular activities and living high stress lives.

Children are the limelight, the focal point, the entertainment and the glory of a small town. It's not easy to drop out. Peers, teachers, coaches, parents and everyone with a vested interest keep the pressure on.

Positive and negative effects. Many youth thrive under these conditions. The "do-everything" kids march off to college with a lot of self-confidence and leadership skills. They are up to the challenge and credit their rural backgrounds for a well-rounded life.

These extra-curricular activities are good. But when there are too many of them, then life is not so good. The negative effects are subtle and may not show up until after high school. Some youths postpone the day of reckoning when they will learn they can't do everything.

Many rural youths crash in college when they find out that their academic preparation wasn't as solid as they thought it was. Grades are tougher. The limelight has faded. Their talents don't compare to urban students who specialized in one or two areas. Mom and Dad aren’t around to pick up the pieces.

Probably the most insidious effect of busyness of rural life is that children have gotten by saying yes to everything. They haven't learned to say no to themselves. Their lack of experience in making hard choices leads to over-commitment, inflated expectations of themselves, and perhaps to experimentation they couldn't or wouldn't try in their small town.

Effects on the family. Farm families especially feel the expense and time crunch because of all the commuting to these activities. They pass themselves coming and going. In the winter, parents have the additional worry of having teenagers driving in winter conditions on rural roads.

The needs of the farm and the amount of "opportunities" don't easily mesh. Hard choices and sacrifices are made, either at the expense of farm work or by depriving a child of a positive experience.

Church nights, Sundays, Saturdays and holidays are increasingly violated as groups search for a vacant time slot to schedule their programs. Family time suffers. Church groups suffer. Sports compete with and are replacing traditional rural youth activities such as 4-H.

The combination of youth and parent activities doesn't leave much family time. Nobody's home. Every evening is taken up. There isn't enough time left over for relationships, for leisurely discussions, for family fun, for interacting and solving problems.

Many rural families sense that their lives need to be simpler and less time-pressured. The expectations of the culture and the community make it tough to go against the grain. It’s hard to take control of one's life and to say no to themselves, to their children and to the community. Parents, schools and communities need to work together to protect family time.

Too much is too much.