CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR S.C. TEACHER CADET COURSE | EXPERIENCING EDUCATION, TENTH EDITION
Conclusions
Elkind says our society's ideas about hurrying children are incorrect. We do not properly prepare children for living in a difficult world by pressuring them into adulthood. We effectively prepare them with love, time to grow, and a sense of self and sense of caring for others.
Should caregivers prepare children for dealing with stress by stressing them more? No, caregivers should give children a sense of security, help them develop a healthy self-concept, and
model healthy stress relief mechanisms. Adults must resist the temptation to hurry children.
Hurried children are stressed children. Signs of stress include frequent stomachaches,
headaches, listlessness and lack of motivation, discipline and learning problems, increased
crime and suicide rates, cult memberships, etc.
Elkind states that children's schedules are geared to the parents’ work schedule and can be very
stressful. Our clock energy gets us through the day. When we have stress, we don't get our
clock energy renewed every day. When we have excessive stress and don’t refurbish our clock
energy over a period of time, then we begin to use our calendar energy to restore our clock energy. This causes premature aging for adults as well as physical and psychosomatic complaints
in children.
What Can Parents Do?
• Recognize that children need time to grow.
• Provide children with a place and time for quiet and sharing time.
• Say "no" in the interest of the child; provide limits.
Parents tend to become more self-centered when stressed. They invest more energy in themselves leaving less for their children. Parents want children to grow up fast because it is easier
to deal with an adult. So by reducing our stress, we can help reduce our children's stress.
What Can Schools Do?
Schools can help by providing smooth transitions between and within classes and between
school and home schedules. They must guard against too early an emphasis on academics
and recognize the need for and value of play as a learning experience and stress reliever.
Sources:
Adapted from All Grown Up and No Place to Go, by Ff