Today's kids are plagued by problems faced by an adult. It is possible that you are in the dark about why your little one behaves no more like a kid...

Be aware of the issues that can drain the childhood out of your little one, and it is best to nip it at the earliest before it is too late.

1) Academic Pressure

… is at an all time high.

The pressure to perform well and excel in studies comes from you as a parent. It can also come from peers, teachers, and from the system itself.

These pressures no longer appear late, before SSC or for a HSC exam; rather they start appearing as early as the first or second standard.

Earlier, tuitions were for those who could not cope with regular grind of studies, but today they are a norm. Necessity of the tuition isn't considered before kids are forced into it.

Children need to have disposable time on their hands, so that they can potter around the house, read a book, watch television, play or just interact with their siblings or parents.

Due to high academic pressures, tuitions, and scholarship exams many children face a shortage of time to relax, making them stressed out and irritable.

2) Loss of Play Time

Children today follow a more rigorous routine that many adults do.

From getting up in the morning to hitting the bed at night, every minute of their day is accounted for, leaving no time or energy for play and relaxation.

Unfortunately, parents too are more focused on studies or activities related to academics, and often don't realise the importance of playing.

As a result, many children hardly go out into the open and play, and are not able to physically release a lot of energy that is stored in them.

3) Shouldering Responsibilities

With both parents working in many households, kids have to take up more jobs like:

• Attending to telephones and salespersons
• Making their own milk and snacks
• Going to tuitions and classes on their own
• Taking care of younger siblings
• Going to the shops and buying things for the house

Though this helps children to mature faster and makes them responsible, it is a maturity and responsibility that is thrust upon them.

Given a chance, no child would like to do the work that is supposed to be done by an adult.

4) Obesity

On the physical side, junk food and drinks, high levels of stress, imaginative advertising, the expansion of television, and a lack of time for physical activity have all resulted in a high number of overweight children.

Apart from giving rise to physical problems, obesity has a very deep impact on the minds of children who realise they are fat. They are often the butt of jokes and ridicule and get mentally affected.

5) Stress

As much as it may be hard for most parents to accept, childhood stress is at an all time high, a fact that will be willingly endorsed by doctors and by schoolteachers.

The reasons for this are a combination of changing lifestyles, pressures from studies, and a genuine non-availability of parents.

6) Media Pressure

Children are under tremendous pressure from various aspects of the media, to dress and look like their favourite film stars or television stars.

Even children under ten have started dieting in order to look thin and look good.

The media also produces stress whenever it reports accidents, acts of violence or natural disasters. Children watching these events lack the emotional maturity to deal with these disturbing images and stories.

7) Lack of Emotional Support

With parents getting busier with their professional and social demands, children very often feel a lack of time and support from their parents.

Very often, they are forced to fend for themselves in times of crisis. Their only link to their parents most of times is through the mobile phone.

The purpose of listing these common problems is to make parents aware, that these problems are for real, and they are instrumental in robbing the children of today, of their carefree childhood.

Though these problems don't have any easy or quick fix solutions, you have to find out what works out best for you. In fact, just being aware is often enough, and could be the first step for to take corrective action.

Author: Dr. P. V. Vaidyanathan

(The author is a Mumbai-based Paediatrician)