Children

Children today 'have less freedom than previous generations'

Two-thirds of under-15s are not allowed to take public transport, while a quarter are banned from sleeping over at friends' houses, research has shown.
Less than half - just 43 per cent - are free to play in their local park without an adult in attendance, according to the study.
Evidence of the scale of restrictions imposed by anxious parents comes amid increasing concern about "toxic childhood", with experts warning that modern society is damaging the education and health of young people.
The latest study shows that parental fears of crime, bullying and road accidents are causing many children to be confined to a life of indoor supervision.
Modern children are only allowed to experience traditional "rites of passage" two years later than their parents did, according to the survey of 7,000 adults and children aged five to 15.
On average, children are banned from walking to school unaccompanied until the age of 11, and using public transport on their own until the age of 12. They are only permitted to babysit their younger siblings from the age of 14.
Parents have made a conscious decision to "mollycoddle" their children because of concerns that Britain has become more hostile to young people over the last 40 years, the research indicates.
Around 65 per cent of mothers and 63 per cent of fathers said that they believed the world is a more dangerous place now than when they were growing up.
Children's charities called for the Government to do more to address parents' concerns about road safety and street muggings, warning that independent adventure was central to a child's development.
Adrian Voce, director of the campaign group Play England, said: "While some fears – such as 'stranger danger' – may not be based on strong evidence, there is no doubt that the public realm is now very unfriendly to children.
"For all of human history the way children have learned about the world has been to explore it. If they get everything they know from television and classrooms, they are missing out on a fundamental part of the learning experience."
Margaret Morrissey, from the ParentsOutloud support group, said: "I feel terribly sorry for parents and children today as we have allowed a society to develop in which the freedom of childhood has been lost."
Mike Rogers, group chief executive of insurance firm LV=, which carried out the research, said: "It's difficult for parents to know when is the right time to step back and allow children to experience things on their own, and this report shows just how much things have changed over the last generation.
"Parents have a key role in helping their children to become more risk-aware and better at spotting everyday dangers in the world around them."
Concerns about "toxic childhood" have grown since 110 academics wrote to the The Daily Telegraph in 2006 to complain that a lack of play space, over-exposure to electronic entertainment and the emphasis on academic testing in schools was tainting a generation of young people.
Last year research from the University of California suggested that children who got dirty by playing outside enjoyed health benefits, as cleanliness can impair the skin's ability to heal itself.

Today’s children are living under more pressure from the society than children in the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
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Today’s world is in the competitive age. Everyday is alive with challenges especially among children. They compete with one another for something in the endless race every day and night. And so the life of today’s children is too hectic to enjoy fully than that of the children in the past. In this essay, I will point out why children get stress and suggest ways of allowing children to grow up in a non-stressful environment.
From kindergarten to university, today’s children lives are too hectic. First and foremost, they have to go to school. In the classroom, sometimes they are under pressure and stressful because of the favor shown by their teachers. After school, they have to have extra tuition and other courses so that they can learn as many things as possible. Finally they arrive home and then they have to do their homework. This is the daily life of today’s children. Whether they want to do or not, they are being pushed all the time. The parents want their children to be well-rounded ones. They neglect what their children are actually enthusiastic in. They should understand the capacity of their children and realize that their children are not supermen. This is why, most of children are not happy at home and always under stress.
Due to globalization, children have to study extra-curricular lessons to keep abreast of other children of their age around the globe. Sometimes they forget to laugh, wrestling with their school lessons and burdens. Following the lure of success, popularity and rank, they get gradually away from the simple environment. They become the silly ones who do not know how to relax and how to savor the peace of nature. In the long run, they easily get aggressive, greedy and intolerant. These all are because of the violent hitting of their stressful environment in which they grow up. In my opinion, to lighten all of their burdens, children should have some activities such as going picnics, taking a walk, spend their leisure together with their friends.
In conclusion, to solve the problem of such stressful society for the children, the teachers, the parents and the children all together should have mutual understanding to each other regardless of their age.

Children today are not as fit and healthy as in the past. Discuss the causes for

It is irrefutable that, nowadays many children are facing problems related to their health and fitness. It is matter of intense anxiety which has caused due to children’s bad eating habits, less physical activities and spending most of the time in front of television or computer.
First of all, many parents try to give better life style to their children, they have been given more freedom and not forced to do any work, even daily household chores, as a result of which they become more indolent and obese. Additionally, many indoor distractions like television and computer games dissuade them from doing outdoor activities, which made them couch potatoes and become short-sighted at early age of life.
Finally, children’s bad eating habits have caused more detrimental effect of their health. With the excess pocket money they always attracted to eat junk food, candies, and beverages, which turned into teeth decay and stomach-ache problems.
Once solution to this situation is the active intervention of parents. Parents should stop indulge of their children and keep control over their leisure time. They should encourage their children to play outdoor sports and do some exercise. Many children have habit of stay up and wake up late, they should be reprimanded by their parents to follow normal schedule strictly. If children are lazy in doing exercise and daily work then it is parents’ responsibility to make their children to do all those things. Parents should stop giving excess pocket money and keep eye on them to obstruct them from doing wrong things. What is more, schools can also play important role in developing children’s health by involving physical training in curriculum.
In essence, parents should always encourage their children for outdoor activities and maintain their health diet. Schools should run health awareness program, which educates students about healthy lifestyle and fitness.

Raising Children Yesterday and Today
Riccardo Joseph
Haiti
ENG 1300
Can you imagine that children’s behavior would become a real problem today! What has changed? Are they badly educated by their parents or are they exposed to many more difficulties resulting from the new way of life? This drastic transformation raises a lot of questions, and I think the most important question is: how should we raise our children in today’s world. I would raise my children in comparison to the way I was raised
Nowadays, very often we hear that children are involved in many crimes. Sometimes, they sexually assault and even kill people. Many parents think that this situation must change because some of those children might become serial killers. I think children are suffering from a lack of tenacity of their parents and from the bad effects of our way of living.
I was born and raised in Haiti. Earlier in my childhood, my parents were very strict about the environment and the conditions in which I was involved. They taught me how to prepare the road in order to become a real man today. They always wanted me to share my opinions. I was really involved in the family. Every Sunday, we went to church because that was the only way where we could hear something that was isolated from political and environmental pressure. I had the spiritual quality that made me think twice about human life today. Education was our main priority. On Saturdays, we used to play scrabble in order to improve our vocabulary. Anytime I had a problem and reacted emotionally, my mother tried to teach me how to deal with it: “A problem with a solution is not a problem anymore, you have to cope with the situation,” she said. Those was her thoughts about being in trouble. These thoughts helped me discover the reality, what was right and what was wrong in our society. My friends were always warmly welcomed by my parents. It seems that we were all together in one family. With them, I learned how to practice tolerance, and I also learned that everyone is different and has his/her own intellectual capacity. Money was everything for me but I remembered one day that my father told me that money is useful but at the same time it can destroy everything. “Do not let you be dominated by money,” he said. They taught me how to be respectful. My parents played a big part in what I am today. Therefore, how would I raise my children?
Children today should be raised in a way where they will be able to make their own decisions. They should be able to distinguish what is good or bad. In today’s world, things are getting more and more complicated. People have to choose what they want to do with their lives. As an example today they allow gay marriage. I would prepare my children to face all those kind of pressure. I would spend my time with them as much as possible. I would show them love and affection like my parents did to me. I would teach them how to be happy with themselves, because today's children try to adopt some attitudes that are not theirs. They want to reject their backgrounds because of peer pressure, pressure of people in their surroundings.
I would show them to know who they are. After years, I would try to get them involved in interaction programs where they could learn the basic skills of collaboration and leadership. By this way, they would know how to assume their responsibilities. For example, I remember that I used to go to school by myself and study on my own while my parents were expecting me to have good grades, but they did not want to help me by checking my school work.
I would teach them how to fight for their rights and at the same time not to restrain the rights of others. They would have to develop kindness and sincerity because I cannot live where there are always quarrels. I would teach them how to stay away from negative people, because they can ruin their lives. Those people never think about something positive, and at the same time they try to force you to believe in their doctrines. I would always tell them that money and background should be considered as little values. As men, I would advise them to try setting their goals as soon as possible even though they would be subject to change, because the worst thing is to live without a goal in your mind.
Well, raising a child today is much more difficult than it was in the past. Nowadays, parents are more overwhelmed about what is happening in the world. They have too much pressure that will cause them to neglect the education of their children because they become afraid of the future. However, we must not forget that children are the next generation, the hope, and the future of the world. Why should we be careless about them? Do not let the negative side of the society reflect on their faces.