Pushing children to study for long hours over the holidays could result in misbehaviour and in the worse case depression.
That's what experts say about piling on the homework over the holidays when children should relax and try new things
Children don't realise when they're depressed or have emotional disorders, so they don't recognise the effects of too much work and too little time to be children.
The Ministry of Education has outlawed holiday tuition but some teachers pile on the homework anyhow.
Psychologists warn that excess assignments and tuition push children to extend schooling at home. Too much work, however, can be detrimental to their development, resulting in indiscipline and rebellion, they say.
The worst case scenario is school arson, they say.
Parents have been raising concerns about teachers overloading learners with assignments during this April break.
A spot check by the Star revealed that some learners are going home with as many as 200 questions for a single subject.
Psychiatrist Njagi Kumantha, former head of Mathari Mental Hospital, says parents should not push children to more than two hours of study before taking time off and engaging in other activities.
Free time and other activities aid brain development and help the child develop self-confidence, he said.
"It beats the purpose of holidays to give children assignments. Holidays are for rest but if you push your child to the books, then be sure that their level of stress and fatigue goes up and is detrimental," Njagi said.
Adolescents red-line
Njagi says the effects of too much forced study are even more serious to adolescents who are at a volatile development stage characterised by rebellion.
He explains that those who struggle to cope up with this pressure often never realise their real potential and end up pursuing what other people want them to do.
This in turns messes them up and can push them to depression and other conditions, Njagi says.
"These effects are more pronounced on teenagers because they are now growing to understand, unlike a kid who will mostly follow simple rules given to them," he says.
A UNICEF report released last year seems to concur with Njagi, suggesting that out of 100 small children, five could be emotionally destabilized.
This compares to about 50 per cent for adolescents.
The report say that of the 50, about 30 manage to cope and get over it, while 20 are never able to pick up the pieces.
"Children nowadays don't get the pleasure of extracurricular activities like in the old days and the lifelong consequences can be more serious than people realise. Mostly this is shows shows up n the middle of the term with bad performance, " Njagi said.
(Edited by Victoria Graham)
