Tessa Cooper spends five days a week, four hours a day after school at gymnastics class.

"By the time I get home, it's like eight [o'clock] or so," she says, "and I eat and do my homework and take a shower and talk to my parents about how the day's gone - and then I go to bed."

Experts have come up with a solution for kids like Tessa: schedule in free time.

"Almost by definition a 'schedule of free time' sounds kind of paradoxical to all of us," says psychologist Nadine Kaslow, "but I do think planning for free time or for down time is very, very important for children."

She says along with creative play and spending time with family and friends, free time provides moments away from competition.

"With all these activities and schoolwork, there's tremendous pressure to perform - often to compete, to excel," says Kaslow, "and that leisure time and free time doesn't have those demands."

On the other hand, she says, some kids don't handle free time very well.

That's something Tessa discovered last year, when she decided to take a break.

"I didn't like it as much as being in gymnastics, even though I had time," she remembers.

Experts say let your children choose their after school activities, choose how busy they want to be, but watch for signs of burnout.

"They will tell you, whether it's through words or tears - or they'll say, 'when are we going again,' or they'll start screaming when you say it's time to go," says Kaslow.