Idle hands...the Devils Workshop?

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop"

Although we discussed this a few weeks ago in class, I recently came across an article in the New York Time's Sports Magazine that brought up the very idea. Although it was encrypted in the article it was there nevertheless. But back to the article.

Basically, the story is about two sisters who are becoming the "Venus and Serena" of golf. The girls, Ginger, 13, and Robbi, 12, are making their mark in the world of amateur golf. However, maintaining that status takes a lot of time and effort.

The girls are home-schooled by their mother and follow a strict four-hour-a-day study period. Now, this didn't seem that important until I read why their mom likes keeping the girls at home (besides having more time to play golf):

"I appreciate that they don't have much socialization now. What they were getting in school was not that good. Parents give their kids too much freedom today. We don't allow much freedom. Their friendships are monitored."

Woah. What? How can you monitor friendships? Isn't the point of growing up branching out and seeing the world for yourself?

Now just to be clear I'm not saying that home-schooling is bad or that it is the wrong way to raise a child. In fact, I believe that every parent is entitled to raise their children the way they want to. But at 12 and 13 I personally think that giving kids some freedoms will allow them to mature in way that parents could never teach on their own.

Another quote, again coming from the mom, that stood out was "My girls are their true age. They're virtuous girls"

I know that we have had discussions in class that have evolved around kids and their ages but thats not what stood out. In my mind I was wondering "What in the world does virtuous mean?" Heres what dictionary.com says:

Virtuous:

-adjective

1. conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright

2. chaste

Basically it means her children are pure, morally correct human beings.

Personally, I don't think that I have ever met someone completely virtuous. And to call a 12 or 13 year old either means that parents hold their kids on a very tight leash or that moms don't see everything their kids do. I personally don't think it is possible to be morally excellent when you spend everyday of your life with your sister who is a year apart from you. For me, there would be no way.
But between chores, 4 hour long study periods, 7 hour long golf games, weight lifting/body work, and the countless hours spent in the car, there is not a lot of room for free time. At the moment these girls seem to be excelling with their schedule. But my question is not the present but in the future, when they are in their teens and their priorities begin to change. Could this hectic schedule actually be the "devil's workshop"?

I guess we'll find out.

If you want to read the article you can find it at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/sports/playmagazine/02play-daddy.html