Daily roundup 17 April: Sport, employment, and peer pressure

Four in 10 children are put off sport by over-competitive parents. The Telegraph reports that a study by Marylebone Cricket Club and the Chance to Shine charity found that parents telling children they are “too heavy” or that they have made a “pathetic mistake” were also factors contributing to children not wanting to play sports.


The number of 16- to 24-year-olds out of work fell by 22,000 in the three months to February to 742,000. The BBC reports that overall UK unemployment has fallen by 76,000 to its lowest rate since July 2008 and now stands at 1.84m.


Children as young as four feel pressure to be slim, attractive and fashionable, a study has revealed. The Daily Express reports that research commissioned by youth arts company Stagecoach Theatre Arts found that websites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram mean that many children feel they never have a break from playground gossip. Around 75 per cent of parents said their children feel pressured to prove their popularity.


Children with greater levels of self-control are more likely to find and keep a job, a long-term study has found. The Independent reports that research spanning four decades found that children aged 10 who were deemed by their teachers to pay attention in school had spent more months in employment by the time they were 40 than their peers.


A retired couple have turned their 10-bedroom home into a school for bullied children after being inspired by the tragic story of a teenager who committed suicide. The Times reports that Fred Morgan, 94, and his wife, Vivian, 72, now share their £850,000 home in Warwickshire with 19 pupils, after reading about Simone Grice, 15, from Cornwall, who committed suicide in July 2009.