Most children take part in after-school clubs. Activities include sports, language learning, music, and math classes. Pushy parents are nothing new, but now parents seem to push their children a lot more. Parents see other children doing a lot of things, and they feel their own children should do the same.
Linda Miller, a mother of three in London, knows all about such pressure. “In some families, competition starts from a very young age,” she says. “Mother send their kids to all kinds of classes when they are very young. And they are always comparing them with other children. It’s crazy. People shouldn’t push their kids so hard.”
Dr Alice Green agrees. She also says that these children may find it hard to think for themselves when they are older. “Parents are trying to plan their kids’ lives for them. When these kids are adults, they might find it difficult to plan things for themselves.” Parents should learn to give their kids a bit more time to themselves. On the one hand, children need organized activities. On the other hand, they also need time and freedom to relax, and they need time to do things by themselves.
參考答案:大多数孩子们都加入了课外活动俱乐部。这些活动包括：体育、语言学习、音乐和数学课等。力争上游的父母们并不少见，可是现在看来，父母们已经把这种心境更强烈地加在还在身上。父母们看到其他孩子们干很多事情，所以他们觉得他们的孩子也要做同样的事情。
琳达 米勒（Linda Miller）一位三个孩子的母亲对这种压力感想颇深，“在有些家庭中，孩子们很小就加入了竞争行列。”她说：“母亲把年纪尚小的孩子送去上各种学习班，而且经常拿他们与其他孩子相比。这是很疯狂的。人们不该太强求他们的孩子。”爱丽思格林医生（Dr Alice Green）对此深表同意，她也说这些孩子长大一点后会觉得他们很难为他们自己的将来计划些什么。她还说：“家长们试图为孩子计划好一切，当孩子长大后会感到已经很难计划自己了。”家长们应学会给孩子们一些自己的时间。一方面孩子们需要参加些有组织的活动。另一方面，他们也需要自由和放松自己的时间，需要时间作他们自己的事情。
