New York Parents Encouraged to Ease Up on Their Kids

Are you constantly pushing your kids to do their very best in every part of their lives? Are you pushing them to get perfect grades and excel in extracurricular activities?

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A New York State social worker says that it's time for you to take a step back and see how pushing your kids might be having a negative effect on them. Erica Komisar is a New York clinical social worker, psychoanalyst, and parenting expert and she thinks that many parents are pushing their kids too hard.

This is leading to more anxiety and depression in their children's lives, especially the younger kids. In an interview with Columbia Magazine, Komisar said that parents should think about taking “their foot off the gas" and examine their own behavior.

Komisar also says that parents want the best for their children, but they don't know what that really looks like. Some parents pressure their kids to get perfect grades, thinking that anything less is failure. This seems unreasonable and unfair to me.

Komisar says that we are living in a more competitive world, and everyone is pushing and pushing until they are pushed to the brink. The answer? Parents need to take a step back, be self-aware and ask themselves the tough questions.

What is success to the parent? Is it really all about grades and achievements?  Does it include the way that the child is acting emotionally?  Komisar's advice to parents is simple. Spend quality time with your kids, and don't be judgmental and have an open and honest conversations.

Look back on your definition of success and think about changing your focus from grades and concentrate on your child's overall well-being. It could be time to take the foot off the gas, pause, and give your child the room they need to grow in their own way.