Parents putting too much stress on their children

A YOUNG CHILD in Shanghai was diagnosed with alopecia areata, or spot baldness, caused by too much stress. The two-and-a-half-year-old's mother sent him to five training classes - English, mathematics, fine arts, piano and public speaking - over the past two months in a bid to get him into a prestigious kindergarten next year. People's Daily comments:

Although this is an isolated case, it is undeniable that many parents worry their children may "lose the race at the starting line" if they do not attend training courses as early as possible.

Those parents, who can afford to pay for various kinds of extracurricular training programs or the high fees charged by private tutors, usually ignore the role they play in educating their offspring.