One of Ireland’s top child psychotherapists claims the emphasis on grades and sport in schools is “demoralising” teenagers.
Behaviour specialist Stella O’Malley, who is starring in RTE’s Raised By The Village, said she hopes schools tune in.
She told Irish Daily Mirror: “I think there are two main challenges for teenagers at the minute,
“There is an emphasis on performance academics or sports and up until primary school [kids are] really pleasant up until they are about 12.
“And then suddenly in the teenage years the emphasis is on exams and how you are doing and the sports changes when you are a child in primary school it is all kind of together.
“Then suddenly, it is about winning. And how did you do and I think it turns quite competitive quite quickly at about 12 or 13. And a lot of children don’t thrive within that.”
The best-selling parenting author, who released a new book about anxiety, titled Fragile added: “The second reason is that there is a massive multi-billion industry effort of trying to get teenagers on their screens and as a result they are living on their screens and they are actually missing out on a load of fun.
“There is a whole world for about six years where they are in secondary school, where they are propelled into this higher or ordinary, how are you doing, exams in the summer, exams in mid-term exams here and there and those kids I really feel for them.” The mental health professional, with over 10 years experience is calling for greater focus on apprenticeships and alternative routes to college after school.
She said: “I would strongly believe we are not using the full potential of people if it is all about academics.
“It is just so narrow-minded to think like that.
“If you look at Germany they have a massive emphasis on apprenticeships and stuff and it is kind of laughable that we were such a talented and young population and we have totally missed the apprenticeship concept.
“I think people are feeling stupid because they have been asked to do something that doesn’t suit their brain.
