Girls “under too much pressure”

    Mrs Berry said, “There is no doubt that many mothers and fathers are worried about getting the balance right between their daughters realizing their academic potential while at the same time being happy and safe.”

    Mrs Berry said in her experience girls had very high expectations of themselves. “That’s a positive thing and we want them to aim high. But sometimes we do find a girl is putting herself under unreasonable pressure. It’s not necessarily pushy parents — it can come from the girls themselves.” Women could be perfectionists (完美主义者) and it was important to encourage girls to listen to their body, which could give warning signs of too much pressure, she added.

    The research showed that parents wanted help and advice on how to deal with problems like eating disorders(失调) and body image.

    “Bright girls with high expectations of themselves get eating disorders more easily,” Mrs Berry said. “But girls schools are usually very good at dealing with these things.” It was a teacher’s job to help girls “to have it all”, but they should also help them deal with some disappointments as well, she said.

    The study also found that fathers particularly were spending little time with their daughters, with over a third spending less than half an hour a day alone with them on a weekday. The survey’s findings are published as the organization starts its new website Mydaughter.co.uk, which gives advice on schooling and many of the problems raised by parents in the research.