The Future of Childhood

Looking back, it’s easy to assume that children have always enjoyed the protected status that they at least officially seem to have within modern American society. But both the historical and the modern realities of childhood greatly complicate this picture and many of our associated ideals.  For children who are not from upper middle-class families, childhood was—and too often remains—a challenging time of life. An alarming number of children grow up in hotel rooms, shelters, or even on the streets. In many families, children work to help support their family. In farming areas, children as young as seven or eight can be found picking fruit and vegetables for ten or more hours a day.

For children in wealthier communities, the hyper-scheduled and supervised nature of modern childhood imposes its own strains. Most middle and upper-class children’s lives are intensively planned and managed by parents (usually moms, but increasingly dads too) and/or nannies: sports teams, tutoring, and music or art lessons are arranged to fill the child’s time. What is lost by not letting children enjoy the timelessness that comes from getting lost in an afternoon’s play? And what is the result of always having adults on hand to solve problems and mediate every conflict? In addition, economic affluence is no certain shield against STDs, teen pregnancy, drug addiction, bullying, violence, and unengaged, ill-formed, and abusive parenting that too often threatens children of all economic classes. This discussion guide invites us to re-think childhood in the 21st century.