Our Hurried Children

I was really expecting another story, and was kind of surprised when I found out that “Our Hurried Children” by David Elkind was an article. This article focused on how children are growing up too fast too soon. I agree with Elkind when he says, “If child-rearing necessarily entails stress, then by hurrying children to grow up, or by treating them as adults, we hope to remove a portion of our burden of worry and anxiety…” I constantly see children at a younger ages taking on the responsibility that I myself wasn’t asked to take on until later in life. This shows that the world is changing at rapid rate and that children are no longer having childhoods.

The quote “early ripe, early rot” was used when referring to a child prodigy. This is not at all true and only describes some and not all people. I also don’t think that it is always a sign of bad parenting. Some parents try but the child may be very easily influenced by others, and the effort put forth could be lost in the act. I found the sub-title “miniature adults” to be kind of funny. I mean it is true that by the end of middle school and especially high school that we are no longer children. I feel that adults rush our growing up experience so much that they can’t even believe it and try to hold us back when it is too late.

The tie between the dress of a child and their actions is one I didn’t think of myself. I work at a daycare and like the author says little girls wear tight jeans and act older than their age. This is why they are now seen as miniature adults. The clash at the adolescent stage show that children were rush out of childhood only to be stopped at the wonderful age of sixteen, when you still can’t do anything. And being 18 is great but living under your parent’s roof in high school, still prohibits all adult activity. I do agree with many of the ideas in this article and I am a product of some of the characteristics described as out growing up too fast. But I feel that I have turned out just fine. :)