Parental pressure harming children

CHILDHOOD is being stunted by parents who push their children too hard to excel at school and other prestige activities, according to a new report.

The study found that parental pressure was making children grow up faster than in the generation before.

Ideas such as Santa, fairies and magic tales were now no longer believed by children aged over six; the parents of the same children believed in such ideas until they were about ten.

The survey said that, in many cases, parents were forcing their children to read books aimed at an older audience, leading to higher educational achievement at the cost of stunted childhood development.

Consultant psychologist Gillian Moore-Groarke, who works in Wilton, Cork, said the findings were not surprising. “Children now are under a lot more pressure to structure their time and activities; there’s a lot of pressure on them to perform and do well,” she said.

“A generation ago, there was more time for creative play and games and it was a more innocent time for children.

“The changes are part of wider changes in Irish society that have taken place in recent years — changes in society as a whole.”

The survey, for children’s channel Cartoon Network, found 85% of parents organised extracurricular educational activities for their children.

The statistic is reflected in the growth of so-called “grind-schools” in Ireland over the past decade.

“Childhood is over all too quickly these days and we are hoping that this research will highlight to parents the importance of encouraging children to exercise their imaginations and take a break from the demands of life, whether this be through role-play or simply watching an imaginative cartoon,” said Cecilia Persson of the Cartoon Network.

A separate survey by Britain’s Institute for Public Policy Research found that an over-emphasis on education, at a young age, may not produce the affluent offspring such parents’ desire.

Its research concluded that academic results did not guarantee a higher income and that over-emphasis on achievement could negatively affect adult behaviour.