Instead, they need to relax and just let their kids be, says Carl Honore, author of new book Under Pressure, which encourages parents to ease off and just trust their instincts.

She says: "Hyper-parenting is good parenting run amok. It starts in a very natural and noble place, which is to do the best for our children, but in the last generation that's morphed into something extreme, where we feel under pressure to push, polish and protect our kids.

"There's a strange kind of frenzy around child-rearing now, where we feel there are just two options – one is that your child is in Mensa by nine and on the Sunday Times Rich List by 22, and the other option is that they drop out and sleep under a bridge.

"There's a strange all-or-nothing mania attached to today's parenting."

He says such hyper-parenting manifests itself in all aspects of child-rearing, from screaming on the touchlines at youth football matches, to parents micro-managing their children's schedules.

He acknowledges that it's not just parents who are to blame for the current culture – the advertising industry and officials who set targets for children have a lot to answer for.

"I'm not trying to blame or demonise parents – we're as much victims of this cultural shift as anyone else."

He suggests parents should take a more laid-back approach: "Set aside at least an hour a day when children are left to their own devices to do things like make mud pies or kick a football. All the research shows that unstructured, free play is just what kids need.

"It's where they work out how to think creatively, how to get on with each other and how to have fun and work out who they are, rather than who we want them to be."

When it comes to children's extra-curricular activities, he says parents should try dropping them off and leaving them to take part in clubs alone.

"Just create some distance and ease off some of the pressure children feel when their parents are hovering."

• Under Pressure is published by Orion Books, priced £16.99.