Perhaps the rising rates of depression and anxiety are the result of a cultural shift in parenting techniques. In the book entitled: The collapse of Parenting (2015), Sax offers an additional perspective on why the rates of depression and anxiety are on the rise. The premise of the book can be summed up by one quote: “No child is born knowing the rules. Every child must be taught.” The book covers five characteristics that are showing up in the children of today:
1. A culture of disrespect
2. Childhood obesity
3. The increased use of psychotropic medications in children and adolescents
4. American students are falling behind in academic skills
5. The creation of fragile childhood egos
The author suggests that the core issue is that parents have “role confusion” or the transfer of authority being taken from themselves and given to their children. Stated another way, the “new” parental patterns are to allow children to decide a course of action when it should be the parent’s prerogative. The result is that children feel empowered but end up adrift with serious long-term consequences, as suggested from the list above. Many children may think they know what is best for them but lack the cognitive ability to make the decisions. Using data from various experiments, the book demonstrates that parent-child interactions are more important than peer
Enjoy the time with your child. This sounds easy but is not always so in today’s hectic world.
Several common misconceptions about this parenting style are identified and effectively countered, and are listed here for your consideration:
This content is provided to you freely by BYU-I Books.
Access it online or download it at https://books.byui.edu/sustaining_life/6314_a_shift_in_parenting_techniques.