Sweaty palms, trembling hands, shaking legs and the constant thought of not being good enough is the reality for a lot of teens. Many things could cause this sort of behavior, but for me, it’s the pressure to be perfect for my parents.
Even though it may seem that my life is put together on the outside, on the inside, it’s a completely different story. Within myself, there’s a constant battle with anxiety that consumes me.
My mom repeatedly checks my grades. Therefore, each and every day, I think about how my parents would react to each grade I receive, and with each test and quiz I take, I become more anxious checking for my grades to update.
Every class, I try to do my best to complete all work so I don’t have any missing assignments. The stress of completing so much weighs on my shoulders like nothing before.
While I know my mom wants the best for me, sometimes it’s a bit too much.
However, school work isn’t the only thing that needs to be perfect.
I feel as though each and every one of my performances, whether it be band or sports, needs to be perfect. And if it isn’t, that’s when the negative thoughts start to come in.
I’ve had friends say that I’m “too hard on myself,” but the truth is, I can’t help it. It’s the constant worry to be perfect and live up to my parents’ standards that make this happen.
Some might say that a more controlling parenting style is beneficial towards kids, but parents should back off a little and lighten their expectations of their teens.
After all, high school is a time to be serious about growing from a kid to an adult, but it’s also a time to make long-lasting memories for the last few years of youth.
A study from The Sharp Health News Team, a group of authors who produce stories about the Sharp Healthcare hospitals and clinics, show from 2016 to 2019 that the anxiety and depression rate grew 27% in children and 24% in teens. Later in 2020, 5.6 million kids had been diagnosed with anxiety and 2.4 million with depression.
While anxiety and depression are two major concerns when it comes to all the pressure, students’ overall self-worth can be affected as well.
They may begin to question who they are and the beliefs they have if they don’t live up to those “perfect” standards their parents have set for them.
A few other serious negative effects of parental pressure are eating disorders, problems with sleep and cheating in school.
The constant stress of completing all work on time and perfectly can lead to being distracted, missing meals throughout the day and lacking sleep to get all that work completed on time.
Kids may end up feeling so pressured they may resort to cheating on tests and quizzes so their parents will be proud to see a good grade come in.
With all these risks at hand, it is better if parents lay back a bit and let their child work at their own pace that’s comfortable for them. It’s important for parents to have trust in their kid that they’ll take charge of their education rather than control every aspect of it.
