I’ve blogged before on the phenomenon of extended childhood embodied in the modern concept of adolescence. To recap, I think adolescence is an invention designed to keep children from growing up too soon. In previous generations a 15-year-old was an adult preparing for marriage and raising a family. Now we have 25-year-olds who don’t act very different from when they were 15.
The Glenn and Helen Show podcast recently brought up the topic Should Adolescence Be Abolished?
Are we infantilizing teens to the point that we are raising a nation of wimps? Is adolescence extended so long that people have gray hair by the time they become adults? Robert Epstein, Director Emeritus of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies in Massachusetts and author of The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen talks about these questions and more on today’s podcast. Epstein’s new book argues that adolescence is an artificial and unnecessary part of life that people are better off without. Find out how your teen’s exposure to school and Western media may be setting him or her up for incompetence, poor judgement and social-emotional turmoil. What can you do about it? Read the book or listen to the podcast to find out. Or go take Dr. Epstein’s competency test to find out how adult your teen is (or how adult you are) at www.howadultareyou.com or visit his website at drrobertepstein.com.
I haven’t listened to it yet, but plan on it.
Technorati Tags: podcast | adolescence | culture | child-rearing | children | parenting | young adults |
