Pressure to succeed

It’s again that time of the year when final exams are knocking at the door. A topper in class does not definitely make you a topper in life. The Indian scene is such that when there are exams in school there is pressure at home. We always feel that if our child tops in class then only he will become rich and successful in future. But that is not the true picture. Exams and academic performance is taken bit to seriously by the parents and hence in this process they end up pressurizing the kids a bit too much.

Parents have the tendency to equate academic success with success in life. The pressure of exams is having a terrible impact in the development of kids. Renowned clinical psychologist, Dr. Seema Hingorani says, “Some amount of pressure is definitely important in everyone’s life. But academic success does not always guarantee career success. But a lot depends on how one defines success. But people generally tend to follow what that society thinks to be successful.” But we cannot deny the fact that there is too much pressure that young children go through causing burnout and intellectual fatigue.

Children require five skills in life. They are physical, communicative, social, emotional and intellectual skills. All five skills are important in life and not just intellectual skills. If success in life means doing superbly in your chosen professions, the one should consider one self as a student forever. Take everything in life as a learning experience and keep upgrading your information.

It is high time that parents change their mindsets about work. During school vacations parents can send their children for summer jobs to get a first hand experience about a particular job. The Yerkes Dodson Law in psychology shows through scientific study that there is a necessity for some pressure for optimal performance to take place. But Dr. Chabria adds, “Parents should stop enforcing their desires on their kids. If a child is doing what he enjoys then he will automatically succeed.”  The way to recognize that the child is in too much pressure is by seeing that the child is sleepless, the child breaks into crying spells, nausea and loose motions.