Past GT essay - Many adults think the childhood and schooldays are the best years of a person’s life. What’s the reason do you think? Do you agree or disagree?

Everyone has nostalgic memories of one’s childhood days and would like to return to them if given a chance. Therefore it goes without saying that childhood and early school days are the golden periods of one’s life. However, the later school years, the teenage years, do have some stresses.

To begin with, there are many more positive aspects of being a child. One of the biggest benefits is in the area of sleep. Generally, parents encourage children to ‘go to bed early’ for one reason or another. Sleep seems to be something that most adults wish they had more of. Another benefit of being a child is in the area of responsibility. The only person a child is responsible for is himself. Life is therefore less complicated and slower-paced. In addition, children are normally not engaged in full-time work. This means the stress of finding and keeping a job is not a part of their life.

Moreover, people tend to treat children with love and care and generally tend to ignore his mistakes which if done by an adult are taken seriously. A child is inexperienced, and lacks understanding about life; he or she must go through a period of learning basic ‘life skills’ such as manners and appropriate language. All this is also a fun part of growing up.

On the other hand, the teenage years have some tensions. Teenagers face the identity crisis, which means that they are neither considered children, nor adults. If they play like small children, they are rebuked and if they sit with adults, they are asked to go away. They also face some hormonal changes of puberty which are very stressful for some. Then they have the stress of choosing their career because the subjects relating to one’s career have to be finalized in secondary school. Nonetheless, these stresses are minor if compared to the responsibilities and tensions of adulthood.

To conclude, childhood for most people is certainly a stress-free time. I believe that childhood and primary school days are among the best times in a person’s life. Teenage years do have their downside but still they are better than older years.