Tweens - does childhood end at age 12?
Childhood ends at the tender age of 12. This is the shocking finding of a Netmums survey which reveals that modern life is snatching away precious years of childhood.
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Whereas we used to think and feel that childhood ended at age 16, over 70% of parents polled said their child was no longer childlike by the age of 12. Almost 90% of parents believe that modern children are under much greater pressure and grow up far faster than previous generations.
The pressure on boys
The survey found that the greatest pressure on boys was to be 'macho before they were ready' and that boys were under pressure to believe 'appearance was the most important thing about someone'. They are also facing pressure to be good at everything - from schoolwork to sports to relationships.
The pressure on girls
For girls, parents report a growing pressure to believe that appearance was of the utmost importance. 45% said their daughter was under immense strain to 'be thin' and over half of parents polled said their daughter worried about how popular she was and how many 'friends' she had on Facebook. Over a quarter felt their daughter was being pushed into an interest in sex and boyfriends before she was mature enough to cope.
Growing up too soon: The effect on parents
The effect of seeing their children grow up too fast is devastating for parents, with one in five admitting they are finding it a struggle to accept their child is maturing early. A third say they are battling to keep their child 'childlike for longer'.
Where do the pressures come from?
Of the 1,032 parents of tweenagers polled almost three quarters agree that peer pressure from friends and schoolmates is the main factor behind modern children growing up too quickly.
Three in ten also cited exposure to the internet and over half pointed the finger at the UK's celebrity culture and obsession with sexualised and body conscious stars.
Two in five thought magazines aimed at tweens but containing sexual content suitable for older teenagers forced their kids to grow up faster.
Parents also slammed retailers provision for tween fashion, especially for girls, with over half (54%) angry that stores only provide 'clothes that can be too sexual, such as overtly short skirts or crop tops'.
The change in the way we play
The gulf between the length of a parent's childhood to that of modern kids' was shown starkly by tweens' favourite activities.
83% of parents quizzed said they were still childlike at age 12 and their favourite activity was playing outdoors with friends. The top choice for modern tweens was playing alone on an iPad or tablet.
Only 23% spend time reading compared to 41% of their parents at the same age, while half the number of modern tweens listen to music (17%) compared to their parents (39%).
Netmums co-founder Siobhan Freegard says: "The pace of modern life is so fast that it is even snatching away the precious years of childhood. A toxic combination of marketing, media and peer pressure means children no longer want to be seen as children, even when we as parents know they still are.
It's shocking our study shows childhood ends by 12 years old. Children need time to grow and emotionally mature in order to cope with what life throws at them.
There needs to be a radical rethink in society to revalue childhood and protect it as a precious time - not time to put pressure on children to grow up far too fast."
