Parenting Perils: The Crushing Pressure to Raise the “Perfect” Child (And Why It’s Killing Childhood)
Parenting Perils: The Crushing Pressure to Raise the “Perfect” Child (And Why It’s Killing Childhood)
Forget monsters under the bed. In Malaysian homes today, the most terrifying spectre haunting parents isn’t mythical – it’s the suffocating, soul-crushing expectation to produce the Perfect Child™. We’ve turned parenting into a high-stakes competitive sport, fuelled by kiasu-ism, social media highlight reels, and generations of ingrained “face,” and frankly, it’s warping childhoods and breaking spirits. Our kids aren’t humans anymore; they’re walking, talking report cards and trophy cabinets, and the pressure cooker we’ve locked them in is starting to explode.
Look around. Kindergarteners lugging backpacks bigger than they are, stuffed not with toys, but with extra workbooks. Primary school schedules packed tighter than a CEO’s diary – Mandarin tuition before dawn, piano lessons after...