mumbai students these days measure their academic growth with the number of tests cleared this sessions first terminal examination is fast approaching and 13yearold karan patil must be preparing for his the teenagerss daily timetable though is as rigorous as the backtoback work schedule of many a ceo dot on 630am the class viii student is dragged out of bed and has just around an hour to complete his morning ablutions while yearning to read the comic strip in the newspaper once inside his class by 8am lectures and project work keep him occupied till 2pm he rushes home by 230pm and has a quick lunch and its time for tuitions from 3pm to 7pm after a half hour tv break he is back at his desk in his room completing assignments till 830pm when its time for dinner then its selfstudy till around 11pm the rigorous schedule is aimed at bringing out the best in him and plan his future career as an engineer unable to take the pressure the minor has of late turned aggressive stubborn and has occasionally used foul language against his parents while several would put him under the category of a teen rebel dr anjali karira a consultant psychiatrist says his attitude is a mere reaction to his stressful life once the childs system can no longer take the pressure he suffers various illnesses like anxiety attacks depression and aggressiveness said dr karira this social anxiety she added is rising as children spend the little free time they get with gadgets and miss out on facetoface interaction unlike earlier even school children these days show signs of stress i treat 13and 14yearolds for depression and mind you they are no mild cases revathi srinivasan principal sulochanadevi singhania school said the main pressure students face is not about the number of classes they go to but that of performing after going through so much training there is a lot of expectation from parents they compare their children with those who perform on tv shows and so on and expect more from their own students themselves compare themselves with others everyone wants to be an achiever i do believe they need enough time to rest with simple graduation degrees not guaranteeing good jobs everyone is focusing on higher education and clearing competitive exams students no longer start deciding their careers after school they do so in secondary school or are told to do so students dont participate in extracurricular activities and sports anymore because they cant stay back after school as they have tuitions said rama iyer a retired teacher of lokpuram public school who continues to be involved in school activities