Academic stress starts early, study reveals

Children are stressed out by academic pressure even before they start primary school, a survey of parents of kindergarten pupils has found.

Some 65 per cent of the 683 parents contacted by Wofoo Social Enterprises said their children, aged four or five, were feeling the strain of their leap from kindergarten to primary school, which they start later this year.

The need to attend different after-school classes and extracurricular activities in order to secure a place at an elite school meant children missed out on playtime. Some 70 per cent of parents allowed their children to play for two hours or less a day, including 30 per cent who allowed an hour or less of play.

One educator said the survey reflected a worrying trend of parents pushing their children too hard academically at an age when they should be enjoying themselves.

The study organiser will release more details from the survey today. It was commissioned ahead of the announcement of place allocations on Saturday, when parents will learn which schools their children are to attend.

Some 76 per cent of parents thought children nowadays had to put more effort into studying than they did in their youth, and that competition was keener than in their childhood.