Children: Is Your Child Facing Struggles You Can’t See?

Children often face both visible stress and hidden emotional challenges in today’s world.

Today’s children face a variety of challenges. From academic stress at school to problems at home, from eating habits to mental health — everything is affecting their development. Issues like school bus safety, bullying, outdated teaching methods, online influence, and lack of playgrounds are hindering children’s physical, mental, and social development. In addition, the increase in junk food, soft drinks, and screen time is leading to lifestyle diseases at an early age. 

Rote learning in education, syllabi not conducive to future AI/ML careers, and a lack of life skills — all these are issues that need to be examined comprehensively. Parents, teachers, and society need to recognize these issues and develop effective solutions. In this article, we will explain the important issues facing children under five categories: health, mental well-being, education, lifestyle, and lack of life skills.

Summary: Children’s Key Struggles (Short Overview)

Category	Short description
Health & Nutrition	Junk food, soft drinks, white foods → obesity, diabetes risk; poor hydration; low fiber.
Mental & Emotional Wellbeing	Bullying, abuse, loneliness, exam anxiety, and depression are harming confidence.
Education & Career Relationship	Rote teaching, tuition load, irrelevant syllabus, weak AI/ML & practical skill alignment.
Lifestyle & Environment	Excess screen time, no playgrounds, unsafe buses, pollution, pandemic disruptions.
Lack of Life Skills	Missing practical skills: swimming, first aid, money sense, time management, problem-solving.

How Do Children Struggle Due to Health & Nutrition?

A balanced diet and proper nutrition are very important for the physical and mental development of children. The increase in the consumption of junk food, cold drinks, and white food is leading to increasing health problems and nutritional deficiencies.

• Junk Food Addiction – Eating junk food that is high in fat, salt, and sugar can lead to obesity, digestive problems, and low energy. This can disrupt healthy eating habits.

• Excessive consumption of soft drinks – Sugary drinks can lead to diabetes, tooth decay, body fat gain, and reliance on soft drinks instead of water.

• Excessive consumption of “white foods” – Refined flour, sugar, and polished rice are low in fiber, quickly increasing blood sugar levels and causing digestive problems.

• Lifestyle diseases – Conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure are increasing in children due to low physical activity and high-calorie diets.

• Eye and body problems due to devices – Overuse of mobile phones and computers can cause blurred vision, neck pain, and shoulder pain.

• Lack of playgrounds – Reduced sports, running, and games lower physical strength and endurance.

• Diseases due to waterlogging – Stagnant water in school premises can cause dengue and malaria.

• Lack of hygiene – Poor sanitation, unclean drinking water, and unhygienic bathrooms lead to frequent illness.

How Do Children Struggle Due to Mental & Emotional Wellbeing?

Children's psychological, mental, and emotional well-being is the most important foundation of their self-confidence, creativity, health, and happiness. They need love, support, understanding, and a safe environment to reduce stress, fear, and frustration.

• Bullying (physical, verbal, online) – Peer harassment, name-calling, and social media bullying can reduce self-esteem and cause fear of school.

• Abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) – Abuse from family or acquaintances causes emotional trauma, fear, and low self-worth.

• Lack of real friendships – Increasing digital connections but fewer face-to-face friendships cause loneliness.

• Childhood depression – Untreated mental illness impacts academic performance and social life.

• Fear of exams – Excessive preparation pressure and fear of failure lead to anxiety and insomnia.

• Social media influence – Unrealistic lifestyle and beauty standards harm self-confidence.

• Lack of emotional tolerance – Inability to handle failures causes frustration and anger.

• Unhealthy competitive culture – Pressure to outperform others reduces cooperation.

A joyful family moment exploring creativity and technology together.

How Do Children Struggle Due to the Education & Career Relationship?

Today, there is little connection between children's education and future careers. Many of the things they learn in school are not relevant to career needs, resulting in a lack of practical skills and job challenges.

• High academic stress – Excessive focus on marks reduces creativity.

• Tuition burden – Multiple extra classes at school or coaching centers limit children’s free time.

• Homework burden – Excessive assignments cause insomnia (sleeplessness) and boredom.

• Old-fashioned teaching method – Emphasis on rote learning with minimal practical skills.

• We are memorizing – Over-reliance on memory reduces problem-solving skills.

• Education not suitable for AI/ML future – Lack of technology-oriented subjects for future careers.

• Syllabus irrelevant to career – Students are unprepared for the job market.

• Burden of three languages – Reduces time for practical learning.

• Lack of mental health support – No trained counselors in many schools.

How Do Children Struggle Due to Lifestyle & Environment?

Today, there is little connection between children's education and future careers. Many of the things they learn in school are not relevant to career needs, resulting in a lack of practical skills and job challenges.

• Excessive screen time – Less outdoor play and increased eye/neck problems.

• Lack of playgrounds – Reduced sports participation and physical activity.

• School bus safety issues – Overcrowding and rash driving cause accidents.

• Exposure to domestic violence – Loss of emotional security due to witnessing or experiencing violence.

• Pandemics & Health Fears – School closures disrupt learning.

• Environmental stress – Pollution, noise, and unsafe infrastructure harm the learning environment. 

Age of a Child vs Common Problems

Age of Child	Key Problems
0–2 years	Feeding issues, sleep irregularity
3–5 years	Speech delay, social fear
6–9 years	Learning gaps, attention issues
10–12 years	Peer pressure, mood swings
13–15 years	Exam stress, self-esteem dips
16–18 years	Career confusion, identity struggles

How Do Children Struggle Due to a Lack of Life Skills?

Today's children are lagging behind in essential life skills such as swimming, basic first aid, time management, and financial literacy. This deficiency hurts future self-efficacy, problem-solving, and personal safety.

• Lack of practical skills – Absence of skills like swimming and first aid limits emergency response ability.

• Lack of emergency resolution skills – Small problems are perceived as major crises.

• Lack of problem solving & critical thinking – Decreased chances of independent thinking and decision-making ability among growing children.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why do children eat so much junk food? – Taste, easy availability, and advertising influence.

2. How much screen time is safe? – Not more than 1–2 hours a day for school-going children.

3. How to reduce test anxiety? – Systematic study, revision, and mental rest.

4. How to stop bullying? – School policies, counseling, and parental support.

5. Why is the outdated teaching method a problem? – Lacks future-ready skills.

6. Why are life skills necessary? – For self-defense and confidence.

7. How does the burden of three languages affect children? – Less time for other subjects.

8. How to identify depression in children? – Mood swings, loss of interest, and isolation.

9. What are the harms of soft drinks? – Diabetes, tooth decay, and obesity.

10. What is the solution to the shortage of playgrounds for children in your area? – Develop school grounds or community parks, making it the most essential thing for growing children, as that as nutrition.

A joyful family moment celebrating love, nature, and togetherness.

Conclusion

The problems faced by children today are connected to health, mental well-being, education, lifestyle, and life skills shortages. Parents, teachers, and society must work together to address these challenges. Building healthy habits, providing future-oriented education, and teaching practical life skills will ensure children are prepared for tomorrow. The focus should be on overall development, not just academics, to create resilient, confident, and capable individuals.

Online Courses, Reference Books, & Websites

Category	Resources
Online Courses	Parenting Strategies 101 Child Emotional Health Workshop Understanding Learning Difficulties
Reference Books	The Whole-Brain Child Helping Your Child Thrive Parenting the Strong-Willed Child
Websites	childmind.org parentingforbrain.com cdc.gov.com