But isn’t it worth it for the ultimate good of our children? Not necessarily. Some of the most interesting insights into this question come not from psychologists, but economists.

“It’s easy to take a look at the more successful kids and assume that all the activities are why they are more successful,” Professor Caplan said. But research doesn’t bear that out.

On a recent National Public Radio program, Steven D. Levitt, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, said he and another economist could find no evidence that that sort of parental choices could be correlated at all with academic success.

“And my guess is,” he went on, “that when it comes to the happiness of kids, that kind of cramming has got to be negatively correlated. Being rushed from one event to the other is just not the way most kids want to live their lives, at least not my kid.” Professor Levitt was also co-author of the New York Times blog Freakonomics.

All right, the economists are largely talking about academic success. But I would wager that most parents believe these experiences are not just for good grades, or are the key to the right college, but are also for the opportunities they give children.

Most parents know that an infinitesimal number of children will go on to be world class in any field. But maybe those pricey golf lessons will earn your son a place on the high school team. Or the acting classes will propel your daughter into the lead in the school play.