Hurried Child Syndrome
By: Ashley Hurtz
What hurried child syndrome is.
Hurried child syndrome is when parents over schedule their children's lives, push them hard to achieve academic success, and expect them to behave and react as miniature adults. Most parents don't believe in this syndrome and that they are actually causing their child to have hurried child syndrome. What parents don't realize is that their social and economic status is affecting their child and causing them to have to go up quicker than they should. Middle and working class parents tend to have to work late and long hours, which makes the child have to learn how to take care of themselves when the parents are not around. Another reason why parents are the cause of this syndrome is because they feel the need to schedule every minute of their child's life and have them participate in everything. They do this because they think they are giving them the opportunity to get an edge in our society and have the skills to make new friends and be sociable. When really it is the total opposite and it is actually stressing them out, and the best thing to do is to have a balance schedule.
Effects on the child.
There are many side effects of being diagnosed with hurried child syndrome. They often abuse drugs and alcohol, have sexual fears, stress-related illnesses, burnouts, and suicides. Children often feel neglected and un-parented, like they are having a midlife crisis, feeling empty, unmotivated, and like they are "over the hill". They often make their decisions based on what their parents objectives are for their children and not their own preferences. The child often has to be perfect at everything and always strives for perfection and not being average. Today there are millions of children who are being medicated for being stress-out. Along with the increase in children being mediated, the rates of suicide and homicides have tripled, and teen pregnancy's are at the highest they have ever been. If children keep getting hurried to grow up, we will see an increase of adults who need social support in the future.
How you can prevent your child from having hurried child syndrome.
Parents can prevent their child from getting hurried child syndrome by just letting them be a kid and allowed to play. They can also create a balanced schedule between activities and time for them to play and have fun. Some parents also try to not pamper there child while they are growing up. They encourage them to fail and fall a few times, rather than always standing at their side ready to catch them in-case something happened. When you allow your child to fall and fail while they are little they are better able to handle the situation and learn from it for the future. Another way to prevent hurried child syndrome is to not put unnecessary responsibilities on the child's shoulders, and to bond with them to make sure they don't feel neglected. Teachers also play a role in preventing hurried child syndrome by allowing the children to relax, play at their own pace, and just act and grow as a normal kid.