A 2007 UK study on primary education concluded that children face "excessive" pressure today. Conducted by Cambridge University, the Primary Review was the biggest such independent study in the past 40 years.
The Review stated that UK children "are under intense and perhaps excessive pressure from the policy-driven demands of their schools and the commercially-driven values of the wider society."
Among those interviewed were children, parents, teachers and others across England, and the Review also identified worries about family life, anti-social behaviour, materialism and climate change.
Personally, I don't think our kids today are under any more pressure than we were growing up in school and society of yesteryears.
However, I believe we must be mindful of what our kids face today in school and society and be aware of coping mechanisms to deal with stress in current times.
Consider a couple of simple questions to ask our kids and ourselves:
- What are our children worried about?
- What can we do to help our child in that regard?
Failure to be aware of such in their early years could mean much grief in later years.
Noting each family and child has unique experiences, each parent must chart their own course to help resolve their children's worries and nip potential problems in the bud.
) I recalled having time to run about my neighbourhood daily and not having to attend loads of extra lessons - in and out of school. I don't have quite well planned time and schedule. Today, my kids' lives are all mapped out by the hour and so much to 'achieve'. I wonder what led to such - parents, system, society, etc 