Are Kids Of Today Out Of Shape, Disrespectful – And In Charge?

A Family physician and psychologist Dr. Leonard Sax, has published his fourth book titled “The Collapse of Parenting.” The book sends a strong message that American families are facing a crisis of authority, where the kids are in charge, out of shape both physically and emotionally and are suffering because of this.

In an interview to Associated Press about his book, he also shared his thoughts on kids of today. When asked

What is the book really about

He replied by saying

The transfer of authority from parents to kids. I think you should treat kids like grown-ups. I think you should expect them to be mature and to behave, and I think that’s what it means to treat someone like a grown-up, among other things, although the phrase to treat someone like a grown-up is ambiguous.

He gave a few examples, one being that of a child having a cell phone in the bedroom. He says that you now find kids as early as 10 years of age who have their phone in their bedroom in the early hours of the morning. He says that no child should have a phone in their bedroom unsupervised. He makes it clear that parents should take the device at night and that it should stay in the parents’ bedroom – he even refers to guidelines published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in October 2013 in this regard.

In the interview he also spoke about the importance of a family dinner. He says that

Research shows having a family meal at home without distractions is important. Every day. Not doing that indicates that time spent at home with parents is the least important priority. It doesn’t matter. It can be overlooked and forgotten.

By communicating that time at home as a family is our highest priority, you are sending the message that family matters. So many kids are in the race to nowhere, trying to add things on to their resume through extracurricular activities with no sense of why. They just burn out at 15 years of age.

He also shared another tip which is about the importance of teaching a child humility.

They have been indoctrinated in their own awesomeness with no understanding of how this culture of bloated self-esteem leads to resentment. I see it. I see the girl who was told how amazing she was who is now resentful at age 25 because she’s working in a cubicle for a low wage and she’s written two novels and she can’t get an agent.

He ended off the interview with a few simple tips  – to enjoy the time with your child, not to multitask, get outdoors with your child and to teach them the true meaning of life.

Sounds simple, but is it really?