What a fascinating point. Had never thought of it.
I mentioned something I read recently in a thread but the gist was mental health professionals are seeing young adults come in with depression and stress related mental illness problems. When asked about their life they say their parents are wonderful and did everything for them, etc. they think that compared to other generations where children were more likely to experience hard times in early life, younger adults are unable to cope with rejection, disappointment as well. Definitely rings true to me.
I'm not saying that some things aren't for the best now, like the culture of secrecy that Dunno described allowed people to go terrible things with no repercussions. That was wrong. But it's also important for us to understand that not giving kids enough independence and experiences with disappointment, rejection, and hard work isn't nevessarily creating a more well adjusted kid. Sometimes overprotecting them is doing the opposite. So for those who have posted "my daughter lives for gymnastics, but she never wins, always works harder but gets 34, is it worth it?" - maybe it will be way more worth it in the end than you know.
