They need the perfect amount of free time. BY THE HOME ECONOMIST

Dr. Elizabeth Leight has four kids, including two teenage girls ages 14 and 15 years old. Naturally, their calendars packed with schoolwork, sports and social engagements. So when it comes time to booking an appointment at the orthodontist or an enrichment class after school, she insists that they phone up and schedule these things themselves.

Teens who feel in control over their own time are less likely to be materialistic, research shows.

“I know I’ll be the one driving them there,” says Leight. “But this empowers them. They gain control over their own time.”

They also – according to new science – become desensitized to the harsh winds of competitive materialism plaguing so many teens. Researchers have long known a few things about young adults and money, mostly that each generation cares more about cash than the one before, and as a result, is more miserable. But now they’ve found surprising results proving teens who feel in control of their schedules – with not too little or too much free time — think less about shopping and feel better about themselves.

“As parents we have to allow our children to make their own decisions about how they spend their time,” says Dr. James Roberts, professor of marketing at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Over-scheduled kids are quick to buy status items as a coping strategy to reduce stress while kids with too much time in their hands become captivated by television commercials and mall merchandise, says Roberts.  He found —after surveying 1,300 ninth and tenth graders — that teens who perceive their schedules to be manageable, lined with many fulfilling activities but also the downtime required for creativity to blossom, were the least materialistic and more likely to forge the kind of fulfilling friendships that combat materialism.

To help your teen either find or fill up time:

1)     Cut extracurricular activities for stressed-out teens.

2)     That’s not an option? No problem, your child has only to perceive her schedule is manageable. And making choices empowers a child. Let yours choose the activities she does until you pick her up.  And always link any mandatory – but possibly unfavorable — activities to something fun. Such as, “You’ll go to swim practice immediately after math tutoring.”

3)      If you have the opposite problem and your child has too much time, come up with projects he’ll enjoy. Have your artist prepare an exhibit; assign your entrepreneur to come up with a business plan; ask your tech-savvy child to design a website. Or simply put one of your children in charge of planning the family vacation. (On a budget.)