education is compulsory

Most adults know how wonderful it is to have a lie-in at the weekends, that's probably because we've pushed our bodies so much during the week. We would function a lot better if we listened to our bodies more.

"But if they don't get up early, how are they going to cope with a job?"

This shows a 'stuck in the past' mentality, where childhood is controlled by adults and geared towards the end goal of 'getting a job'. Besides, we are moving ever-closer towards a 24-hour society, so having to 'get up early' to go to work is becoming less relevant. Sure we all need money, and for most of us this means working for it, but is it right to pressurize our children further by placing yet more expectation upon them? They are not children for long, so why spoil their childhood with the "If you don't study hard, you’ll end up on the dole queue." threat?.

If our children have vocations in life, following their own interests via their own motivation will far more likely lead them there than studying subjects they have no interest in because someone thinks that's where the employment prospects are. If they can earn money from something they are interested in, that’s a welcome bonus. 'Getting a good job' should not be the be-all and end-all of life. There is probably not enough conventional employment to go around anyway, so an increasing number of us will have to look around for alternative ways of making a living.