How Phones Are Making Parents the Anxious Generation

Re:How Phones Are Making Parents the Anxious Generation by kreyenborgi on Friday July 26, 2024 @03:13AM (#41076481)

How do Americans deal with other parents? I've heard so many strange stories about parents getting arrested for things that seem perfectly normal across the pond, like letting your kid walk to school or the store (or that Danish lady whose child was taken away from her by cops because she had it in a carriage outside the cafe, a normal thing to do in Denmark, such an insane response to a simple cultural difference)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How Phones Are Making Parents the Anxious Generation by blackeyeblitzar on Friday July 26, 2024 @04:39AM (#41076897)

Yes these absurd consequences end up forcing parents to raise sheltered children who have too much intake of social media insanity because they can’t just play outside all day on their own. And that lack of self reliance and poor digital exposure leads to their development issues that carry into adulthood.

But at the same time, American cities are unpredictable and there is often a rational fear of crimes for parents. In some cities crime is due to a lack of law enforcement. In others it is due to poverty and lack of opportunity. In others it is due to uncontrolled immigration (for example poorly assimilated refugee groups). In others it is due to uncontrolled school environments, where your “good” kid may run into problems with the “bad” kids they share a classroom with. With all of this going on, parents can feel like they have to be controlling and in a constant alert state to avoid something unexpected happening to their precious children. And that fear leads them to this style of parenting, not just fear of consequences from police officers.

But if you go away from cities, to rural areas, you’ll see parenting is more comparable to European parenting.

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