Originally Posted by Aya477:
I also think about this--why has society placed so much pressure on parents and schools to push children to be the top of the class, the best player on the team, participate in the most elite circle activities, be involved in a variety of activities, learn beyond their age and development, and become independent sooner than they should. Personally, I think this is why some children are becoming aggressive, dropping out of school, taking up drug use, engage in crime in their teens. It has nothing to do with being in childcare because childcare is supposed to provide a nurturing environment. Then you have employers pushing the employees (parents) to do more at work, assign hard to meet deadlines, attend this, attend that. Parents are under pressure so they want to escape their responsibilities for a moment and indulge in something for themselves which does put their kids on the backburner. Kids are under pressure and they react as kids do which is with outbursts. This all makes for what we see day to day in life. Oh and add all that to the fact that you can be a total failure and still have someone (the government) keep you up? Yep, sure makes it easy for some people and as Nanny said...easy equates to good in some people's minds. And as a society, we do need to get a grip. It doesn't mean that a parent has to stay home with their child to develop a quality adult. It means that as a society, we need to cut back on our demands, expectations & perceptions so that the push to be more and have more is diminished.
I wouldn't disagree with you that pushing children beyond their abilities is too much pressure, but keeping children involved and active in sports and other extra-curricular activities is proven to be a protective factor against substance abuse and drop out rates. Lack of parental involvment is a proven risk factor. It isn't a limited study...I can provide you with numerous, large scale studies that span years.