Children should not be made to do excessive amounts of homework and school projects during the holidays.

This is according to Margaret Morrissey, a spokesperson for Parents Outloud, who said it is not acceptable for youngsters to be weighed down with work during their time off.

"We are in danger of eroding their childhood and teenage years, meaning they miss out on the enjoyment and the time to become members of society or they are so stressed and tired their work at school suffers," she commented.

Many children do not get home until after six in the evening and asking them to do two hours of homework after this is simply too much, Ms Morrissey added.

Writing recently for the Irish Independent, Michael Lynch noted that the average 12-year-old lugs around a school bag weighing 11.8 kg - more than 8.6 kg more than the government recommends.

Posted by Donal Walsh

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