According to Leonard Bickman, "It is estimated that the percentage of children and adolescents in the United States who require mental health services is between 15 and 20 percent. In other words, more than 10 million children in the country suffer from some mental disorder." This fact reveals that more and more children display mental health issues. Adults must take this issue seriously and carefully, determining and addressing the root causes. Children are subject to heaps of learning pressure and comparison from society. Nowadays, children accept pressure from their parents and schools. The adult thinks pressure can help children to be successful in the future.
The overwhelming pressure from schools and parents affects children's mental health. Unrealistic expectations from parents and schools of children, academic competition with peers, and unsatisfied parents make students feel extreme pressure and lead to mental health issues. Anxiety and depression continue to rise among young people as the competition with their peers increases due to desires for placement in their dream college. Emphasis on grades becomes the main goal for students as good grades give advantages over other students in reaching the next steps in life: "The pressure teens feel to do well in school is tied at least partly to their post-graduation goals. About six-in-ten teens (59%) say they plan to attend a four-year college after they finish high school, and these teens are more likely than those who have other plans to say they face numerous pressures to get good grades" (Horowitz & Graf). Post-graduation goals fuel the pressure on teenagers to do well in school. Most teens say they plan to attend a four-year college after graduation, which also means they are under pressure to achieve excellent grades. Achieving grades leads to eligibility for exceptional universities. Students cannot bear the overwhelming stress, which eventually leads to anxiety. Many parents push their children to succeed, emphasizing a "performance orientation." They put too much pressure on their child to make excellent grades: "Research shows that parents who show a performance orientation more often have children who report high levels of stress than those who show a "mastery orientation," she added" (Gewertz). Parents often compare their children with others and praise those who do well. At the same time, parents criticize their children and demand reasons for lower grades. They make their children believe they are not enough and forbid them to do better and better. Competing with peers is one of the areas where children are stressed in school. Parents see other children doing better than their own and apply even more pressure on their children.
Although those pressures from schools and parents are weighty, some people think it is significant for children. The more pressure we bear, the more successful we will be in the future, so it is essential to lay the foundation for the future. Matthew Gandal, executive vice president of the Washington Group, advocates for students to be better prepared for college and future careers, and he believes "that parents might need to put more pressure on kids if they are going to be successful. That would be a wonderful sign that their standards need to go up" (Gewertz). In the future, students will be contested in many places. Parental pressure is the motivation for children to work hard. Only through parental supervision and criticism can children achieve their goals. Numerous adults believe that if children do not obtain excellent grades, they will be a loser in the future.
Adults put too much pressure and expect too much from their children. Children think that pressure is a burden but will have side effects. Stress can lead to mental or physical illness in children. Many parents want their children to do better and better. However, the behavior of some parents causes the child to bear too much pressure. Being under such colossal pressure may have severe consequences for the child. They may cause multiple effects ranging from mental health to sleep problems, "Higher rates of mental illness. Kids who feel like they are under constant pressure can experience constant anxiety. High-stress levels can make children more vulnerable to depression or other mental health problems. Self-esteem problems. Pushing kids to excel can damage their self-esteem. The constant stress of performing interferes with children's identity formation and causes them to feel like they are not splendid enough—or even that they will never be excellent enough. Sleep deprivation. Kids who feel constant pressure to do well in school might stay up late studying and struggle to get enough sleep" (Morin). Although some argue that parents should put more pressure on their children, they should not because the pressure is already too high for students. Parents putting too much pressure will also cause children to have serious side effects. It can lead to not reaching their final goal, becoming ill, having self-esteem issues, and having mental health conditions. The consequences of pressure on teens will be irreversible and affect their future. Too much pressure will cause children to have physical diseases. Not every child can study like a robot all the time, and they must combine work and rest. Rest is an inalienable part of a child's day.
Children attain too much pressure from their parents and school. In school, it is not only about grades but also about competing with peers. Parents always compare their children with other children and believe children need to do better and better. Still, adults forget that children have mental illnesses because of the pressure brought by parents and schools. There is nothing more important than a child's physical health. Nowadays, society is becoming more and more competitive. More and more parents force their children to go to various cram schools, leading to more children having mental diseases. The significant idea that all adults fail to notice is that children cannot bear excessive expectations and overwhelming pressure.
References
Gewertz, Catherine. "Student Pressure Subject of Debate." Education Week, vol. 26,
no. 03, 13 Sept. 2006, p. 1. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A215125184/OVIC? u=slclpowersearch&sid=OVIC&xid=36f47 498. Accessed 30 Mar. 2021.
Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, and Nikki Graf. “Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety,
Depression as Major Problems.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/social
trends/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major
problem-among-their-peers/.
Morin, Amy, LCSW. “Consequences Kids May Experience If You're a High-Pressure
Parent.”Verywell Family, 22 Sept. 2020, www.verywellfamily.com/the-dangers-of- putting-too-much-pressure-on-kids-1094823.