We Have Ruined Childhood

We Have Ruined(ˈro͞oin) Childhood

For youngsters(ˈyəNGstər) these days, an hour of free play is like a drop of water in the desert(diˈzərt,dəˈzərt,ˈdezərt). Of course they’re miserable(ˈmiz(ə)rəbəl).

By Kim Brooks

According to the psychologist(sīˈkäləjəst) Peter(ˈpēdər) Gray(grā), children today are more depressed(dəˈprest) than they were during the Great Depression(dəˈpreSH(ə)n) and more anxious(ˈaNG(k)SHəs) than they were at the height of the Cold War. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Abnormal(abˈnôrməl) Psychology found that between 2009 and 2017, rates(rāt) of depression rose by more than 60 percent among those ages 14 to 17, and 47 percent among those ages 12 to 13. This isn’t just a matter of increased diagnoses(ˌdīəɡˈnōsəs). The number of children and teenagers who were seen in emergency(əˈmərjənsē) rooms with suicidal(ˌso͞oəˈsīdl) thoughts or having attempted suicide(ˈso͞oəˌsīd) doubled between 2007 and 2015.

To put it simply, our kids are not O.K.

For a long time, as a mother and as a writer, I searched for a single culprit(ˈkəlprət, ˈkəlˌprit). Was it the screens? The food? The lack of fresh(freSH) air and free time, the rise of the overscheduled, overprotected child, the overarching(ˌōvərˈärCHiNG) culture of anxiety and fear?

Those things might all contribute. But I’ve come to believe that the problems with children’s mental and emotional health are caused not by any single change in kids’ environment(inˈvīrənmənt) but by a fundamental shift in the way we view children and child-rearing(ri(ə)r), and the way this shift has transformed our schools, our neighborhoods(ˈnābərˌho͝od) and our relationships to one another and our communities.

The work of raising(rāz) children, once seen as socially necessary labor(ˈlābər) benefiting the common good, is an isolated endeavor(enˈdevər) for all but the most well-off parents. Parents are entirely(enˈtīrlē) on their own when it comes to their offspring’s well-being. Many have had to prioritize(prīˈôrəˌtīz,ˈprīərə-) physical safety and adult supervision(ˌso͞opərˈviZHən) over healthy emotional and social development.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/opinion/sunday/childhood-suicide-depression-anxiety.html