【明報專訊】Children who join interests groups want to have fun, but one may come under stress if one joins too many.
Recently Hong Kong University and Caritas jointly surveyed 1200 primary 4, 5 and 6 students, of whom over 40% said they felt "depressed" or "anxious". Primary 6 students seemed most disturbed. The percentage is far higher than that of Korea or any city on the mainland.
It is clear from the survey that many Hong Kong students suffer from negative emotions and low self-esteem. Three percent of the respondents have thought about committing suicide. Hong Kong students' anxiety level has indeed reached a worrying level.
Hong Kong parents set great store by their children's academic results and are therefore prone to criticise them. Some students find their after-school tutorial classes and interest group sessions stressful. Many parents force their children to attend such classes. According to Leung Suk-man, a teaching consultant of Hong Kong University's Department of Social Work, some students are free from after-school classes only on Sundays. She reminded parents that, if their children attended interest group sessions reluctantly, they would become stressful to them.
■Keywords
anxiety……焦慮
parenting……父母管教方式
stress……壓力
■Questions
1.Why are many students anxious?
2.Why do you think parents would force their children to join interest groups or attend tutorial classes?
3.How does children's stress or anxiety adversely affect them?
■Further readings
HKBU, Student Stress Management Platform:http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~stress
