Kids seem so desperate to grow-up, when they should be enjoying childish things like play, say experts. Lisa Salmon finds out what we can do about it.
Spurred on by the toxic combination of marketing, media and peer pressure, many children are growing up too fast and trying to behave like adults, when they’re very definitely still children and should be enjoying playing and having fun.
Past research by parenting website Netmums (netmums.com) found more than two-thirds of parents thought childhood was over by the age of 12, and a third by the age of just 10. And while we might expect young teenagers to try to act like grown-ups, the tween years of 10-12 seems too young to lose the innocence of childhood, when kids should still be having fun, instead of worrying about their appearance or trying to look macho.