Articles

Mental Health

HIGH SCHOOLERS NEED TO DO LESS SO THEY CAN DO BETTER
The New York Times, September 2024
We condition students to do a so-so job and then move on to the next thing. We need to let them slow down.
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THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO HELP DEPRESSED TEENAGERS
The New York Times, November 2023
Clinical psychologist Dr. Darby Saxbe examines why modern mental health education for teenagers can backfire.
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CHILDHOOD INDEPENDENCE IS A MENTAL-HEALTH ISSUE
The Cut, November 2023
This article examines how the parental culture of hypervigilance harms a child’s independence and, consequently, their mental health.
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THE PHONE IN THE ROOM
The New York Times, February 2023
NYT examines the raging debate about smartphones and teenage mental health.
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THIS TEEN WAS PRESCRIBED 10 PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS. SHE'S NOT ALONE.
The New York Times, August 2022
This article examines a medical practice common among her generation: the simultaneous use of multiple heavy-duty psychiatric drugs.
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TYING SHOES, OPENING BOTTLES: PANDEMIC KIDS LACK BASIC LIFE SKILLS
The Washington Post, April 2022
More than just academic skills were interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Students are having issues adjusting to a classroom setting, socializing with their peers, and carrying out basic life skills like tying their shoes.
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THE PANDEMIC WORSENED YOUNG PEOPLE’S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
New York Times, December 2021
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general released a report on how the pandemic impacted youth mental health and actionable steps that can be taken.
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AAP, AACP, CHA DECLARE NATIONAL EMERGENCY IN CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH
American Academy of Pediatrics, October 2021American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association have declared a national emergency in children’s mental health, citing the serious toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on top of existing challenges.
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WHY KIDS MAY BE MELTING DOWN AT SCHOOL
New York Times, October 2021
Teachers across the country on how to support children’s social and emotional learning.
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IT’S NOT CHILDREN’S EDUCATION WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT, IT’S THEIR MENTAL HEALTH
Forbes, May 2020
In addition to its practical challenges, at-home learning during COVID-19 threatens to interfere with children’s social and emotional development, posing potential long-term mental health risks for today’s young people.
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DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE RATES ARE RISING SHARPLY IN YOUNG AMERICANS, NEW REPORT SAYS
Time, 2019
“Between 2009 and 2017, rates of depression among kids ages 14 to 17 increased by more than 60%.”
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A GROWING NUMBER OF AMERICAN TEENAGERS – PARTICULARLY GIRLS – ARE FACING DEPRESSION
Pew Research Center, 2019
A staggering 20% of teenage girls reported experiencing at least one major depressive episode over the past year in 2017, compared to just 7% of teenage boys.
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Freeplay

One of the Best Documentaries on the Loss and Recovery Of Childhood Independence
After Babel, August 2024
“Chasing Childhood” contrasts the play-based, “free-range” childhood of the 1980s with the over-supervised and fearful childhoods of today. It’s great for inspiring collective action.
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STREET WARS: In New York, Schools Are Reclaiming Roads for Recess
New York Times, September 2024
The city’s Open Streets program will allow schools to close 71 streets to traffic and open them for students to play without worrying about speeding cars.
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The Kids Aren't Alright. Are Phones Really to Blame?
Washington Post, March 2024
In ‘The Anxious Generation,’ Jonathan Haidt argues that the move from ‘play-based childhood’ to ‘phone-based childhood’ has had disastrous effects.
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End the Phone-Based Childhood Now
The Atlantic, March 2023
Jonathan Haidt on how the environment in which kids grow up today is hostile to human development.
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Risky Play Encourages Resilience
New York Times, July 2020
With the pandemic pulling parents in different directions, kids have inadvertently been given the opportunity to test limits sans parental hovering.
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All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids are More Anxious, Depressed
The Atlantic, October 2011
The decline of play has contributed to a decline in children’s mental health. Here are the benefits of free play.
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Now’s a Good Time to Teach Your Kids to Play on Their Own
New York Times, April 2020
This article outlines parenting techniques to encourage independent free play in children.
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College

THIS IS PEAK COLLEGE ADMISSIONS INSANITY
Daniel Currell, former senior adviser at the Department of Education, traces rising levels of uncertainty in every step of the college admission process, from students applying for increasingly competitive spots to not knowing if they can pay for school due to an imploding financial aid system.
The New York Times, May 2024
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A COLLEGE DEGREE IS NO GUARANTEE OF A GOOD LIFE
The Atlantic, July 2020
What happens when your child announces they don’t want to go to college? One parent weighs the many pros of accepting this decision.
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DEAR THERAPIST: I STAKED MY IDENTITY ON ATTENDING AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL
The Atlantic, May 2020
In response to a devastated young reader’s submission, columnist Lori Gottlieb reminds us that “When one door closes, another one opens,” even when it comes to college acceptance madness.
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FORGET HARVARD AND STANFORD. IT REALLY DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU GO TO COLLEGE.
The Washington Post, 2015
Frank Bruni’s research finds that only about one third of CEOs at top Fortune 500 companies graduated from Ivy League universities.
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A NEW STUDY ON FORTUNE 100 CEOS: THE (SURPRISING) UNDERGRADUATE INSTITUTIONS THEY ATTENDED
Forbes, 2019
“For parents and students who believe getting into an Ivy League school is a requirement for success, the educational paths of the F100 CEOs suggest otherwise.”
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Parenting: Styles, Choices, and Attitudes

COULD HELICOPTER PARENTING JEOPARDIZE KIDS' SUCCESS - AND FUEL INEQUALITY?
Boston Globe, April 2023
As inequality has surged over the last 50 years, middle- and upper-middle-class parents have increasingly worried that if their kids don’t have the right kinds of credentials, the consequences will be dire.
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THE GRAVITATIONAL PULL OF SUPERVISING KIDS ALL THE TIME
The Atlantic, July 2023
When so many people think hovering is what good parents do, how do you stop?
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STOP RESISTING CHANGE
New York Times, September 2023
Opinion piece about embracing change
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THIS SIMPLE FIX COULD HELP ANXIOUS KIDS
New York Times, September 2023
Opinion piece by Camilo Ortiz and Lenore Skenazy about the benefits of independence for mental health.
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THE BEST EXTRA-CURRICULAR MAY BE AN AFTER-SCHOOL JOB
New York Times, July 2022
Opinion piece by Pamela Paul outlining the skill-building benefits of jobs for teenagers.
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DR. BECKY DOESN’T THINK THE GOAL OF PARENTING IS TO MAKE YOUR KID HAPPY
New York Times, November 2021
An interview with clinical psychologist, Dr. Becky Kennedy, of the Good Inside Podcast.
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A PACKED SCHEDULE DOESN’T REALLY “ENRICH” YOUR CHILD
New York Times, July 2021
Coming back to the post-pandemic world can be a great chance to take a break from the screens and couch. However, filling your child’s schedule with extracurricular activities might just worsen their mental health.
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THERE'S A BETTER WAY TO PARENT: LESS YELLING, LESS PRAISE
The Atlantic, March 2021
When Michaeleen Doucleff met parents from around the world, she encountered millennia-old methods of raising good kids that made American parenting seem bizarre and ineffective.
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HOW BOOMER PARENTING FUELED MILLENNIAL BURNOUT
The Atlantic, September 2020
Baby-boomer parents spearheaded the hands-on parenting style, ushering in a culture of young adults who often struggle to stand on their own.
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MAJORITY OF YOUNG ADULTS IN THE U.S. NOW LIVE WITH THEIR PARENTS
Time, September 2020
In a tough economy exacerbated by the global pandemic, more young adults are living at home than ever before, surpassing the previous record set in the Great Depression.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICAN CHILDHOOD?
The Atlantic, April 2020
With rates of anxiety, depression and suicide on the rise for young people in recent decades, research suggests that specific changes in parenting can offer potential solutions to this crisis
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STOP TRYING TO RAISE SUCCESSFUL KIDS
The Atlantic, December 2019
In a culture that increasingly focuses on competition and achievement, today’s young people often fail to develop a strong sense of empathy. Parents can counter this by consciously reinforcing the value of kindness.
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THE AGE OF CODDLING IS OVER
New York Times, April 2020
Opinion: “I’m hoping this moment launches a change in the way we raise and train all our young, at all ages. I’m hoping it exorcises the tide of ‘safetyism,’ which has gone overboard.”
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SPARING CHORES SPOILS CHILDREN AND THEIR FUTURE SELVES, STUDY SAYS
Boston Globe, 2015
The 2015 Harvard Grant study found that those who completed chores and household tasks in childhood grew up to be happier adults with greater success in the workplace.
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KIDS WHO DO CHORES ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL ADULTS
Inc., 2017
The Harvard study specifically identified “work ethic” as a strong predictor of future success and happiness.
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MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY PARENTS ARE DOING TOO MUCH FOR THEIR YOUNG ADULT CHILDREN
Pew Research Center, Social & Demographic Trends, 2019
“While 61% of adults who have children ages 18 to 29 say parents are doing too much for their young adult children these days, only 28% say they themselves do too much for their young adult children.”
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THE RELENTLESSNESS OF MODERN PARENTING
The New York Times, 2018
“Social scientists say the relentlessness of modern-day parenting has a powerful motivation: economic anxiety. For the first time, it’s as likely as not that American children will be less prosperous than their parents.”
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THE NEW PRESCHOOL IS CRUSHING KIDS
The Atlantic, 2016
In 1980, 30% of kindergarten teachers expected their students to know how to read by the end of the year. By 2010, this figure had jumped to 80% of kindergarten teachers.
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HOW KIDS LEARN RESILIENCE
The Atlantic, 2016
With 51% of public school students at or below the federal poverty line, educators recognize the importance of instilling grit in the classroom, preparing kids to face an economically uncertain reality.
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KIDS OF HELICOPTER PARENTS ARE SPUTTERING OUT
Slate, 2015
“Recent studies suggest that kids with over-involved parents and rigidly structured childhoods suffer psychological blowback in college.”
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THE SHORTENING LEASH
Slate, 2014
A Slate survey finds that parents born in the 1970s experienced childhood freedoms that they now don’t allow their own children, like going to a playground alone or using the stove.
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