Stressed parents
Imagine the situation … your parents come home from work. They’re tired, but they don’t relax. Instead, they have a full programme of activities. Your dad has a music lesson, then he does some work for the next day and then he prepares the evening meal. After eating, he does voluntary work at the hospital. Your mum plays tennis, then she studies for an hour, eats and then goes to her computer class. Does this sound crazy? Well, for some teenagers, it’s typical!

Busy teenagers
In Britain, doing organized activities outside school, such as playing an instrument or going to a youth group, is popular for young people. Around 59% do sport as a free-time activity. About 30% of teens regularly volunteer, for example they help at an animal refuge. Parents want their children to do well at school, but they also want them to have other skills, such as learning languages. They want them to take part in community activities such as volunteering. But are they putting their children under too much pressure?

A teenager talks
Thirteen-year-old Beth Bailey is a typical teenager. ’You get a lot of pressure from your parents to study and you get pressure from your friends to go out and have fun. I’m always busy. I’m in a youth theatre and we do a play every year. I go to guitar classes, basketball club and I help at home too. I hardly ever watch TV during the week because I don’t usually have time! It’s really stressful sometimes.’


Advice
However, Beth has some good advice: ’Don’t try to do too much. Have fun doing activities and learning new things, but don’t get stressed. Remember, you need to enjoy your life too!’

SCRIETI 2 IDEEI PRINCIPALE!!!!