Volatile emotions and an imperfect knowledge system are two major problems facing children who take up ballet, opera, sports and acrobatics early in their lives, said Sun Baohong, adolescent problems expert of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"Having led an independent life away from their parents from a very young age makes these children open-minded and precocious," he said.
Without the restrictions of normal schools and parents and extended stays with peers, these kind of children easily direct their emotions onto the opposite sex from too young an age.
"It has become a thorny problem for these school principals and teachers," Sun said.
Their special experiences caused imperfect development in their personalities as well.
Meanwhile, limited knowledge gained from attending these special schools also sets up barriers in their future life if they want to change to another career.
"Fortunately, art colleges require lower marks of these children so that they can widen their view in the universities," Sun said.
(Shanghai Star June 7, 2002)
