The Spoilt Generation

Book excerpt: In the space of a few decades the way we parent has changed dramatically. Something we once did intuitively has become the subject of political fashion, guided by experts. As parents we are older and more time-poor than ever before, with the highest proportion of single-parent households in history. Our children are now spoiled in ways that go far beyond materialism. But they are suffering to a degree we never anticipated: we now have the highest rates of child depression, underage pregnancy and violent and anti-social behaviour since records began. Yet adults, at every level, have retreated from authority and in doing so have robbed our children of their basic supporting structures. In THE SPOILT GENERATION, Dr Sigman takes issues by the scruff of the neck, among them children's sense of entitlement, the effects of TV and computers, single-parent homes and 'blended' families, parental guilt and the compensation culture. He offers a clear practical message to us all - parents, grandparents, teachers and policy-makers alike - as to how we can redress the status quo, redefine our roles and together cultivate happier and better-behaved children.