Zhang Xiaolu used to be happy when she finished classes every day but now, at the age of 8, life has become stressful.

Xiaolu, who studies at Shaoyaoju Primary School in Beijing's Chaoyang District, has been taking piano lessons on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for three months.

And to make sure she has enough time for the lessons, Xiaolu has to study until 11 pm to finish her homework.

About one-third of her classmates are also taking piano classes.

"She would have lagged behind her classmates if she did not start at an early age," said Huang Shaoqin, Xiaolu's mother, "so I wanted her to learn, too."

"I used to go to the park with my mum and dad or visit my grandma in the suburbs on weekends," Xiaolu recalled. "I don't have time to do that any more."

More than 20 percent of primary school students and 35 percent of high school students said they felt pressured by their parents' expectations, according to a nationwide survey conducted last year by the China Youth & Children Research Centre, the largest child research institution in the country.

"A mountain of homework and heavy school bags, coupled with parents' great expectations, is driving more young children away from a joyful childhood and is making more of them suffer from anxiety or depression," said Sun Yunxiao, a researcher and deputy director of the research centre.

Children now spend more time doing homework than playing, and they're not getting nearly enough sleep, the survey showed.

Of the parents surveyed, 91.7 percent said they expect their child to get a university degree or some form of higher education award, while 54.9 percent said they want their child to get a PhD.

Driven by the great expectations, students compete fiercely to try to qualify for China's top schools. Of the students surveyed, 13.7 percent in primary school and 40.8 percent in senior middle school said they thought their parents were unhappy with their marks.

"Don't let your child be lost at the starting point" is a well-known phrase among parents. This means parents believe that being successful in school can guarantee their children have a golden future, Sun explained.

"Parents' ambitions for their children have been held partially responsible for the anxiety and stress they are feeling," Sun said.

Panic transfer

He cited the story of a young girl at a kindergarten in Tianjin in North China, where children are asked to learn maths that is usually taught in the second year of primary school.

The girl, named Ji Meiqi, was murmuring maths in her sleep the night before she took an enrolment exam for a top local primary school. The pressure was so intense that eventually all her hair fell out.

Improper education methods used by Chinese parents when coping with issues relevant to schools can also hurt children. For example, 8.4 percent of parents said they simply warn their children that they will have no job and no future if they get low scores.

"Such parents pass on their panic and worries to their children, creating additional pressure on the child's psychological development," Sun said.

In addition, schools, in most cases, use scores to evaluate a student. However, this has lessened the diversity in courses, cutting the channels for children to fulfil their potential, the survey said.

"Children are asked to do a lot of repetitive homework or study to improve their scores in exams, which reduces their inspiration and interest to study," Sun said.

What's more, misleading media reports on talented children and top students have given other children much pressure, the survey said.

In terms of methods to prevent anxiety in children and help those who have suffered from it, a sound and mutually respectful relationship between parents and their children always serves as the best remedy, Sun said.

"Scolding only frightens your child," he advised. "Praise and encourage him or her to be confident, to be strong and responsible when facing difficulties."

In short, parents must always be willing to talk to their child and made to believe everyone deserves to be happy, Sun said.

Never too young

Sun said it is also very important for parents to better understand their children at an early age as the pressure on the youngest is intensifying.

"As parents are eager to give their children a head start, more and more children under 6 years old are suffering from stress," Sun said.

Cao Wei, who manages a diamond company in Beijing, drove nearly two hours to an educational centre near the southern Fourth Ring Road last week so that her 2-year-old son could attend a trial music class.

"I brought him here to see whether he has a talent for music," said Cao, 35, who lives in the Chaoyang District in northern part of the city.

However, the boy did not stop crying throughout the one-hour class, and they left before it was over. "The music is too noisy, which, I think, is not good for kids' pre-educational development," said Cao.

"I would like to try other things, such as swimming, to see whether he has an interest in them. You know, pre-school education is very crucial for a child's future development."

Cao is just one of the many parents who have high hopes for their pre-school-age children. In Shanghai, parents have shown great interest in a special programme designed to provide 12 courses, including English, maths, astronomy and economics, to give children under 6 a head start for a possible master's degree in business administration.

The "EMBA" programme with the E standing for "early" has seen 1,500 children pass through its doors since it was launched two years ago.

The programme, leading to MBA courses for adults, seems no different except that when the demands of subjects such as economics or communication get too taxing, children respond by crying and asking for their parents' help.

"It does put stress on kids too early, and that is why they cry for help from their parents," said Wang Xudong, a psychologist who works with Project HOPE, a non-governmental charity based in the United States.

Wang said children who are overloaded by stress are more vulnerable to psychological problems, like ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), at an early age,

About 19.8 million children suffer from ADHD in China, accounting for nearly 6 percent of the total number of school-age children.

"Besides genetic transfer from parents, some of them get the disease because of stress at an early age and find it very hard to control themselves and concentrate on classes," Wang said.

According to Wang, Project HOPE has launched a project to train Chinese doctors and teachers to better treat children suffering from ADHD.

The China ADHD Sunshine Project will last until 2008, with the first group of 40 doctors and 120 teachers receiving training this week in Beijing.

"Teachers need to pinpoint children with psychological problems earlier," Wang said. "That's why it is urgent that they join the campaign to help these children out."

However, there seems to be no programme yet to train parents to lower their expectations.

(China Daily June 1, 2006)