Pressure on Children

Most parents have their worldly experiences and will feel a sense of failure or inadequacy if their children do not live up to them.Great emphasis is placed on materialistic attainment and scoring points before their friends and neighbours, while spiritual values are sadly neglected. Unfortunately, their children fall victim to these psychological pressures. They are encuraged to excel in their studies, to secure jobss that pay well, to climb up the social ladder, and to accumulate as much wealth as possible. Many parents do not place too much value on virtues such as gratitude, honesty, integrity, kindness, consideration and tolerace. The pursuit of wealth and worldly success are far more important to them.

Due to such social pressures, parents either rightly or wrongly, and without thinking of the consequences, encourge and even force their children to work hard and compete for the so-called 'success' . They impose their value systems on their children who areunder pressure to be smart, to be popular and to excle. They are under the impression that success means the ability to compete, conqure and quell opposition, ignoring the need to establish and inner harmony with oneself.

Where the children have the interest or not, they are expected to attend classes on computers, music, ballet, swimming, and so on, under the misguided belief that such activities are very important for success and happiness. There is nothing wrong in pursuing such healthy activities if the children are interested, have the required talents, or if they are meant to enrich their child's awareness of themselves and the world around. The cultural activities and accomplishments are necessary to make a human being more cultured. A richer understadding of the beauty of life should help children become more understanding, more compassionate, and apperciative of the beauty of nature around them.

It is natural for parents to se their own features and characteirstics refected in their children.