With UP board results to be declared on Sunday, both students and their parents are feeling the pressure of expectations, which is bogging them down.
While most parents want their child to perform better than their neighbours' child, experts say such expectations do more harm than good. Undue pressure from family and friends to perform better than the rest is not healthy for children. What matters is the courage to continue no matter what the result, say academicians.
Surveys say that a mediocre child is capable of doing much better in life than a school-topper, says Manju Agrawal, director, Amity Institute of Behavioural and Allied Sciences (AIBAS). "It is just that some children are less motivated than others due to the enormous parental pressure. There are children who are very smart but get Ds and Fs in their report cards because parents focus too much on their child's academic skills and are ignorant of behavioural aspects like how well he manages stress, deals with pressure and works in a team," she said.