High Academic Expectations From Parents Can Lead To Poor Performance [STUDY]

There's no guarantee that your child would stay on top if you'd continually pressure him/her to be on top. A recent study published in 2015 pointed out that parents should not pressure or set high academic expectations for their child/children as it can possibly lead to their downfall.

It's a known fact that every parent would only want what's best for their child. While some may be lenient, others tend to push their children into excellence. Though there's nothing wrong with striving for perfection, but pushing the child to be on top can sometimes end up with a negative result.

Several studies back up the claims that children being pressured by their parents to excel in school are "most likely to under-perform," or won't be able to deliver what is expected of them. In addition to studies done in the past,

"Although parental aspiration can help improve children's academic performance, excessive parental aspiration can be poisonous," The lead author of the study, Kou Murayama, PhD. of the University of Reading I the United States said.

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology came into conclusion that parents' aspiration will likely influence the child. Almost 3,000 German students along with their parents participated in the first study. Each student's math grade was assessed by the researchers based on their parent's aspirations from them. The second study which was done with the same team involved 12,000 American students and their parents.

Both studies came up with the same conclusion, wherein parents who pushed their children into overachieving can possibly end up with a negative result. It was then stated that "Parents' overly high aspirations of their children lead to poor academic performance. "

"This study suggests that the focus of such educational programs should not be on blindly increasing parental aspiration but on giving parents the information they need to develop realistic expectations," a press release published by the American Psychological Association cited.