At the same time we coddle children and award them participation trophies and never tell them “no” for fear of hurting their self-confidence, we unleash the world on to them with the internet and social media and expect them to handle it.

It makes no sense.

I’ve heard many parents throw their hands up and say to me that children grow up faster nowadays and I can’t help but think that in every measurable way that is the opposite of true. The problem is that children are not growing up. We’re allowing them to be exposed to more but they’re not maturing faster. I would argue that many aren’t maturing at all.

The gatekeepers are the problem. The children are acting like children. The parents are not acting as parents. We are not saying “no.”

We’re throwing our kids into the deep end of the culture and they’re drowning while we throw our hands up and call it the new way of swimming.