The Hurried Child

1494 Words6 Pages
Childhood is slowly being pushed out of existence to make room for the fast pace moving lifestyle we live today. This is the main topic discussed in David Elkind’s, “the Hurried Child”. Adults are pressuring our children of the future to grow up and become adults way before they are ready. The simplest thing can upset the balance of childhood such as the way we dress them. Dressing children in adult clothing has been suggested as hurrying because it makes them look like adults so they feel they should act as adults and we lose sight of their innocence. Forcing children to participate in sports before their bodies are ready is also happening. Parents put too much pressure on children to win which takes the fun out of the already physically harmful game. The book goes on to talk about how different family lifestyles hurry children. Divorced and single parent families have a better chance of hurrying their children, while married families are able to set better examples. Single parent families expose their children to their dating life which leads to children having different people in and out of their life. Also they experience their parent going through the more honeymoon stages of the relationships which is indeed more sexual and flirty. This can lead to children, especially girls, becoming more promiscuous. Married family parents have already experienced this part of the relationship which allows children to see a more conservative and committed relationship. Schools also can play a large role in hurrying children. Our schools today stress our kids with their high demands on academic achievement, children which in turn has led to higher suicide rates. If it is not enough that the schools are putting a high amount of pressure on our children they are also taking away their free time. The book suggests that play time is one of the most important part of childhood.
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