“There is such a pressure on kids these days to be the best at everything”
Especially at school!!
Many parents nowadays are putting intense pressure on their children to excel academically. While parental pressure can be helpful sometimes to motivate kids to study hard, experts warn that when parents become too concerned about grades, it can seriously lead to emotional, physical, and social stress.
Kids put under intense pressure live with the fear of not performing up to their parents expectations. And when their grades are not high, they feel guilty for not studying hard. While it’s not easy to recognize when a child is stressed out, here are some indications of emotional stress:
– Worrying about an exam
– Anxiety
– Anger
– Depression
Kids feeling overwhelmed about school performance may also suffer from physical stress symptoms, such as eating disorder, sleep deprivation (due to excessive studying hours), headaches and diarrhea.
Several signs of stress caused by academic pressure may include social and behavioral problems. For example, children may withdraw from friends and have an increased desire for solitude. This results in developing poor social skills.
They will even lose interest in pleasurable activities and hobbies, as their only concern will be to have excellent grades and meet their parents’ expectations about school performance.
Last but not least, it is important to mention that kids under parental pressure learn that academic success is important, not for personal reasons, but to please their parents and satisfy their needs. So they do not learn the values concerning achievement.
In a nutshell, parental pressure to pursue academic success has negative effects on their children health, as well as their emotional and social development.
When you find yourself putting too much pressure on your kids, always remember that it is your job to keep their stress level under control, because, as parents we always put our kids well-being and happiness ahead of everything else.
Haifa Dada
Youth, Parent and Family Coach
No Comments