Many Shanghai kids unhappy
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2004-06-02 10:12

Most Shanghai children are plagued by various worries and pressures from the outside world, a recent survey suggests.

City-based East China Normal University, together with Radio Shanghai, surveyed 1,087 local children between the ages of 6 and 12, in 100 KFC outlets around the city about their recent psychological situation.

About 78 percent of the children surveyed stated clearly that they are not happy these days, with their unhappiness attributed to 837 various reasons.

Nineteen percent of the students said that they are often criticized by their parents, which is the biggest reason for the children's sadness.

Fourteen percent said they had problems with some of their classmates, while 4 percent said they were feeling blue due to negative comments from teachers.

"I'm always scolded," said Wang Wenjia, 10. "Most times, it's because my marks are not high enough to meet my parents' expectations."

Nearly 79 percent of the children said that their parents place strict demands on their examination scores and rankings, which also obliges them to do things they are not interested in at all.

"The incorrect education method most parents adopt have become the top killer of happy childhood," said Du Yasong, a researcher at Shanghai Psychological Health Center.

Due to the country's family planning policy, most parents have high expectation on their only child, hoping that they can achieve high marks in study while having many other interests.

Due to those high expectations, many parents force their children to do piles of exercises on top of their regular homework.

Children are also signed up for extracurricular training courses on weekends.

"I have no time of my own at all. I'm very depressed." Xu Simin, a local primary school student wrote in a letter to her teacher last week.

The survey also said children are upset about having no time to watch cartoons and not having any pocket money.

While many are unhappy, most of the children said they wouldn't discuss their feeling with their parents.

The survey indicated that 63 percent of children don't want their parents to perceive their feelings. Up to 53 percent of the children would prefer to stay alone and solve the psychological discomfort by themselves.

Only 16 percent of children said that they would like to tell their parents about their problems.

Sang biao, a psychologist from ECNU, said the survey result is a reflection of children's growing awareness of independence.

"But on the other hand, it also indicated that children nowadays are losing trust and reliance on their parents," he added.

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