Burnout in children

School in the morning, tutoring at lunchtime, tennis around four and a piano lesson from six, before homework after dinner. In between, constantly on WhatsApp, ordering that cool hoody online and increasing the score on the hottest game before going to bed. Unimaginable. But this is what a normal day looks like for many children and young people today.
Carers and doctors such as Hamburg child and adolescent psychiatrist Michael Schulte-Markwort are now warning of burnout in children. Indeed, expectations, the pressure to perform and the pace are increasing among young people - at school, at home and in their social environment. «Parents and schools, and therefore children and young people, are constantly confronted with the higher demands of the globalised world,» says Zurich school psychologist Catherine Paterson. Although the condition of exhausted or overworked adults is described as burnout, there is no disease classification for it worldwide. Especially not for children.

Little Einsteins

Children spend a lot of time on social networks. A high level of presence is required there. They are constantly online and never get to rest. Kurt Albermann, Head of the Social Paediatric Centre at Winterthur Cantonal Hospital, criticises the associated lack of meaning and alienation from reality: «When we ask children today what they want to be, quite a few of them want to be a star, famous and rich one day.» The paediatrician and psychiatrist misses the meaning that is increasingly overshadowed by self-expression and performance orientation.

Online dossier Burnout

Added to this are the rising expectations of parents. «There is an increasing discrepancy between the example we set and what children and young people are actually capable of,» says the expert. The expectations are unrealistic. Children are expected to win at the Olympic Games, win a Nobel Prize in maths, shake up the international art scene and, ideally, succeed Anne-Sophie Mutter at some point. The child psychiatrist and the school psychologist also refer to the «agony of choice»: deciding in favour of one thing, foregoing tempting alternatives and then sticking to one's decision - for example, vocational training - is becoming more and more of a challenge.

Career choice as early as primary school

According to a recent study by the Zurich City Health Department, most children and young people were satisfied with their life situation. The recently published Swiss Juvenir youth study by Pro Juventute comes to a different conclusion: 46 per cent of young people aged between 15 and 21 stated that they were constantly stressed: at school, at university, at work, at home and in relationships.
According to Kurt Albermann, pressure to perform comes not only from outside, but also from the children and young people themselves, who demand and overtax themselves.
Performance profiles and talents are individual, but school and social performance targets are standardised - often at a high level. The school system also plays an important role in this, as it is not primarily geared towards individual support. Increasing professional requirements are also shifting the vocational course to primary level. According to the maxim «no Matura, no career», eleven to twelve-year-olds are already qualifying for further education and cramming for months for the entrance exams to long-term grammar schools. Some of them easily manage 40 to 50 hours a week.

Just be a child

«We mainly focus on our children's weaknesses rather than their strengths,» says Kurt Albermann. There is also a lack of «free time and space» for the development of creativity. As a performance-orientated society, we are increasingly reaching our limits - including our children.
Modern multitasking leads to the feeling of never really being able to do everything. Overwhelmed and overloaded, those affected react with physical and psychological symptoms: «Children have headaches or stomach aches, back pain and show feelings of tension or exhaustion.» These symptoms protect them from further stress and allow them to withdraw and take it easy. But they need to be recognised and interpreted correctly. The first sign can be school anxiety. Other physical signs include sleep or concentration problems. In the worst-case scenario, children fall into an exhaustion depression. Affected children are sad, but otherwise show few emotions, feel worthless, withdraw and become more and more socially isolated.

Involve the environment

To prevent it from getting that far, the first signs of excessive demands must be taken seriously, says paediatrician Marco Belvedere. Parents should react with understanding and not just with educational measures. Ideally, parents should inform their family doctor or paediatrician. Belvedere explains: «Depending on the symptoms and severity, we decide with the parents what needs to be done and how help can be provided.»
Marco Belvedere and Kurt Albermann look after affected children and young people. They try to involve the whole environment, including the school situation. Treating such situations of excessive demands can take time, as the patient has to learn new behaviours. Basically, Albermann believes that we also need to ask ourselves as a society where we want to go. It is time to review our attitude. Often, less is more. Catherine Paterson recommends that parents focus more on trusting their children's development. Marco Belvedere agrees: «Children need more parental confidence again.»

Warning signs that may indicate excessive demands or overload

• Sleep problems, constant tiredness, not wanting to get up in the morning
• Reduced performance up to poorer school performance
• Decreased self-esteem and self-confidence
• Feelings of guilt, sadness, lowered mood
• Emotional flattening or constant irritability
• Exhaustion and apathy
• Psychosomatic symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches and bedwetting
• Repeated infections, nausea, vomiting
• Weight loss or weight gain
• Social isolation
• Suicidal thoughts, self-harming behaviour