What has happened to childhood?

Children today it seems have more pressure on them not just with exam results but with modern culture in general. They are being robbed of their childhood. Parents are fearful over their children’s safety which also plays apart. The average child nowadays is more wrapped in cotton wool and given less freedom in some ways and too much in other ways; they are more spoiled in a highly competitive society. The latest fashion items, technical gadgets are a must for the majority. As they get older they will be fighting for jobs, financial security, mortgages and a luxury lifestyle. It is no surprise that the amount of children suffering from depression is now at its highest. The pressure of looking and behaving to perfection is unrealistic and quite frankly unhealthy. So isn’t it time we got back to what really matters, childhood is so precious and so short it is a period that should be idyllic. What parents seemed to have forgotten is that the most important things they can give their children are love, time and healthy food. It sounds simple, obvious even but it is a fact that very young children given the choice would rather have the love and time of their parents more than anything else in the whole wide world. That at least is what I discovered when I was teaching in Montessori nursery schools.