The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has stated that pressuring children to act like adults and skipping steps can have detrimental effects.
On Thursday, Adamu revealed this during his keynote speech at the Stakeholders Town Hall meeting for the Hurried Child Project, a programme organised by A Mother’s Love Initiative in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Abuja.
The theme, “The Hurried Child Syndrome,” was chosen to commemorate the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse. This is to educate society about the dangers of rushing children during their formative years, as well as the importance of allowing the Nigerian child to grow properly.
The Minister also said that, practice of rushing children can affect the child’s mental memory, processing system as well as psychological development process.
He said: “In addition, the practice of rushing children can affect the child’s mental memory, processing system as well as psychological development process.
“Rushing children to be wonder-kids even before they can walk can cause undue stress with its attendent devastating effects. Since rushed children are made to pass through adulthood related stress, they in turn begin to exhibit adult stress and related health and adult related delinquent behaviour.
“Most of them end up underachievers instead of academic prodigy hoped for by the parents. Some also subsequently become anxiety ridden and end up with sleep disorder, suicide, depression drugs and crime in other to meet their parent desire.”
The Minister who was represented by the Director, Senior Secondary Schools, Federal Ministry of Education, Adekola Ben stressed that, weak enforcement of the National Policy on Education, and lack of sensitization on the negative impact of the practice on the child and society has driven the Hurried Child’s Syndrome.
“The hurried child syndrome is a popular bug among the elite class. It is a process of transferring their children from childhood to adulthood overnight by skipping the process of natural growth.
“The practice of children skipping classes based on a rigorous academy scrutiny or overage consideration is not new in the educational sphere. However the recent trend in the practice places it on the status of an acceptable norm, rather than an exception.
“Today most pupils transit from primary five or even primary four to junior secondary 1. This leaves most schools without the primary six (6) classes. This unhealthy trend is also found in the senior secondary school where students in senior secondary school SSI and S$2 sit for terminal and university entrance examinations.
“They are propelled on by their parent’s desire and impatience. This is the hurried child syndrome.
“The lack of attention to the full delivery of the primary school curriculum with the absence of primary six(6) compromises the child’s opportunity to acquire the full complements, knowledge skills, emotional, physical and moral development as prescribed in the curriculum.” He added.
Adamu advised parents not to rush children or force them to skip classes and the process no matter how bright you think they are.