It is generally observed that most of the educated parents have become excessively worried over the study and higher achievement of their children. The general yardstick of the achievement of their children is being taken in terms of higher percentage of marks at school and College level. Of course, parental worry and involvement in the scholastic achievement of their children appears to be quite natural in this highly competitive market where even at secondary level more than 90% marks are given. The students securing even more than 70% marks are considered to be under achievers. Such examining bodies have definitely posed a serious threat not only to the child but even to the guardians, who judge the development and success of their children mainly in terms of higher percentage of marks. Even at lower level of schooling if a child fails to obtain 20 marks out of 20, the parents start behaving in a highly obsessed manner. They start reviewing the degree and intensity of their involvement with the study of their children. The parents start rescheduling the study hour and keeping strict vigilance over the child to the extent that he becomes a study machine devoid of feeling and emotions. Sometimes the child becomes highly irritated and leaves meeting other persons and enjoying the social and emotional components of life which are also needed for a balanced personality .The parents themselves become so much obsessed, worried and abnormally involved in the performance of their children that they disturb their own mental health beside disturbing the child normal growth. The parents become disturbed to the extent that the entire family environment is polluted. It has been observed that some parents start consulting the psychologists, counsellors and the teachers in a highly disturbed manner. They become highly concerned even at a bit lower scholastic achievement of their children. They develop a fault-finding attitude towards themselves and also towards children and the teachers. In short, they start blaming all those who have been associated directly or indirectly with the study of their children. This type of parental attitude may lead to inferiority feeling and aggressive tendencies within children and they may develop social isolation and alienation. The parental unrealistic treatment to the child and over involvement may lower their ego strength and self-confidence, which become highly damaging to their proper growth and achievement.

The second step taken by some of the parents in respect of the admission of their ~ children into the best institution may become some time threatening and anxiety provoking to themselves. The parents in their excessive quest for admission of their children into the best institution put them under prolonged stress and strain. They make every effort to fulfill their desire even when their wards do not have required percentage of marks. The resulting failure in getting their children admitted into the choiced institution makes them highly disturbed which adversely affect the aspiration of the child.

The third source of excessive worry to the parents lies in the imposition of the goal set by themselves on their children, irrespective of their intellectual level, aptitude- interest and personality. Sometimes the selection of the subjects of study as per parents, choice leaves the child in distress which may create obstacle in achieving the desired goal of the child. The failure in achieving the life goal of the child may be attributed to the parental failure in understanding the limitations and assets of the child. In long run the lower achievement of the child contributes more to the existing worry of the parents. Some educated parents or so called intellectuals, from the very beginning go on hunting such schools which reflects not only the status of the students but also that of the parents. The parents become so much obsessed with regard to the admission of their children in such schools that they cannot think of any other school. This step of the parents undoubtedly is natural from the view point of their own desire for quality education of their children, but if they fail to get their children admitted into a few choiced institutions they become so much disturbed that even their children start feeling frustrated and do not want to study in any other school. The lack of involvement on the part of such children is simply to be attributed to parental limited choice of school without having an alternative choice. The children of such parents become highly frustrated and may not find interest in studying in any other school. His future becomes at a stake only because of parental rigidity and obsessed behaviour.

In this age of excessive competition and the expansion of knowledge with the limited power of assimilation, the parents' correct assessment of children from the very beginning is required failing which they may produce various obstacles in the way of child's achievement. The parents must be realistic in their approach and must make correct assessment of children's potentialities and creative talents. The parents must realize that their children have to grow amidst odds and not in an Island. They should not erect their own boundary wall so high in terms of their values, expectations and aspired achievement of their children that they become imprisoned within it only because of their unrealistic expectations from their children. The parents' level of aspiration must be higher but there should not be a big gap between their own aspiration and the level of achievement of their children.

The children must be trained to maintain a balance between their real and the ideal self otherwise it would create problems of adjustment in their life.

The parents should accept that the present age demands that children must learn to grow amidst odds and challenges. While planning the career of children, the parents must - set preferential goals for them and not the single one. This action of the parents will minimise the chances of acute frustrations within children if one goal is not achieved.

The parents and the teachers have to contribute towards this end. It is to be further pointed out that in this competitive age and globalisation only. I the higher percentage of marks at school and college level cannot be the soul of criterion of a successful job career. Various competitive examinations are held for the selection of the right persons and at this stage of screening in-depth knowledge of the subject as well as other personality traits and abilities are required. Hence, the students who have prepared themselves along this line may be the higher achievers in their life, even though they have not been able to achieve very high percentage of marks at school or college level.

The parents, thus, are supposed to develop a sound personality of their children and not only hankering after the extremely higher percentage of marks to be obtained by them. The parents must not appear to be problem parents before their children because of their rigid and obsessed behaviour.

Further, the parents must not only stress heavily upon number of hours spent by their children on their study rather on the proper utilisation of the study time w4h- - concentration and proper understanding. They must train their children even to accept their failure and under achievement by raising their level of tolerance and making a realistic appraisal of themselves. Only then their children will be able to try to overcome their poor achievement.

Nowadays it is in the news that after knowing the results of examination a few students have committed suicide, which leaves unhealthy effect on the mind of younger generation. This news becomes a reinforce even to those who didn't believe in this type of action after meeting failure at examination. Such incidents may be the result of various personal and social factors but parental excessive expectation may also be one of the causes. Hence, the parents should not be so much obsessed with the higher scholastic achievement only in terms of percentage of marks that it could lead to disaster of the children. The parents' worry and anxiety for the success of their children is natural but

not to the extent that their anxiety is transformed into pathological one which adversely affects their own living as well as the personality of their children. It has been rightly acclaimed that problems are the parents not the children. Parental effectiveness in a highly sound manner makes the life of the child satisfying one.

(*)Former :Chairman, Bihar State University (Constituent Colleges) Service Commission, Patna
Vice-Chancellor, Nalanda Open University
Prof. & Head. Department of Psychology
Director, Institute of Psychological Research and Services &
Director, D.D.E., Patna University.