Pushing Too Hard?

All the pressure for kids to succeed now must be really rough.  I suspect parents don’t know the toll their children pay for the pressure to “do their best” and “achieve.”  Remembering the relief of playing after school, homework and chores, I would have hated knowing I had to face more pressure in dance class, athletics, and tutoring.  As clumsy as I was, it would have been more stressful than school.

Will high-achievers have happier and more successful lives?  Are their lives ruined forever if they don’t get into an Ivy-League Schools?  The world is full of wonderful truck-drivers, grocery store clerks, hairdressers, and brick-layers. We can’t get by without them. Everybody doesn’t need to CEO of a Fortune Five Hundred or Nobel Prize Winner. Any job that contributes to society is honorable, worthy of respect. We need to help our children develop as healthy, moral, people of values rather extensions of ourselves or shining examples of what we wish we’d done.  If your kid is capable of making A’s if he or she works all the time, give them a break.  Let them play a little and make some B’s.  There’s a lot to be learned about values in playing.  It’s not all about you.  Everybody doesn’t want to be a star!  They need our guidance and support, not impossible demands at the cost of their soul.

17 thoughts on “Pushing Too Hard?”

  2. This is so true! I knew my parents wouldn’t be able to send me to college, so I took secretarial classes in high school. At least I had options, so I had some skills when I went out into the world. And yes, we didn’t have all those extracurricular activities, so we had plenty of time for playing after school. Ahh … the good old days!

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    • My parents couldn’t help with college. I went on student loans and worked. I got out in three years with $1500 in debt in 1970. I challenged several courses and got out faster. Back then there was a flat fee for anything between 12 and 21 hours. I carried a max load every semester.

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  3. Yeah some parents put a lot of pressure on their children to do well, get all A’s at least, I was not one of them I have always told my children and grandchildren to do the best they can. All three of my daughters have learning issues to some degree, Natasha was in a special class at school due to her problems. Kathy should had been in one but wasn’t, Kathy could read and write fine but her comprehension was very low and even now she still has trouble understanding some things.

    My grandson Blain was in a special glass in high school as it was felt mainstream would be too difficult for him, Sam is in a special class due to learning and behaviour issues.

    My granddaughters Sydney-May and Summer are both in high achievers class

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  4. Parents and society put too much pressure on kids. Parents are the worst at assuming/demanding that the kids go to X College as they did or go into the family business. I was lucky that my Grandparents had a completely differ approach. :)

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