The thing that scares most parents is seeing their child not living the life they dreamed of, that is why, even before birth, parents have planned out everything to achieve the success and fulfillment of being a great parent. According to Daynurseries.co.uk, it is no surprise that parents feel the pressure for their kids to excel and compete, thus; nurseries are trying to adapt to the demands of parents to see their children learning, earlier than they expect, rather than playing.
Sarah Steel, managing director of the Old Station Nursery chain, observed that parents have become unaware that their expectations are leading to something that is not yet achievable by their child. "The most common thing is wanting children to be able to write their name and the alphabet and complete 'worksheets', when sometimes the children don't have sufficiently developed fine motor skills even to hold a pencil correctly," Steele says when interviewed by Daynurseries.co.uk.
As part of their child's life plan, parents enroll their kids in different skill-developing classes to recognize their talents and eventually encourage them to pursue it. However, nurseries found out that parents are more concerned into molding their child to something they expect rather than considering doing what they enjoy. In an article in Mom.me, Dr. John Duffy, a Chicago-area clinical psychologist, and author of "The Available Parent," encourages parents that "Expectations should be high but reasonable. Many parents seem to expect their children to be perfect, but there is a lot of anxiety, and very little satisfaction, in this set-up.
The early stages of childhood can be crucial, and that is giving too much pressure to your child to achieve something, in particular, may have an adverse effect and cause a child to feel like a disappointment,explained Fiona Blackwell, head of operations at KiddiCaru. Due to this increasing issue nurseries are patiently trying to enlighten the parents that their expectations should not only focus in the academic aspect; they should also expect the capability and willingness of the child to learn and explore. To reduce the pressure on the nursery and the parent as well as the child, Sue Asquith, an early years adviser at National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), revealed that parents should understand the difference between the sequence and rate of child development. Furthermore, parents should determine and consider the child's rate of child development.
Considering how competitive parenting can affect the early developmental stages of a child, nurseries aim not just to educate children but also parents to make them understand that children develop in different rates and excel in different areas. That is to ease their feeling of anxiety that if they don't encourage their children to excel they are failing them.
