The Coddling of the American Mind:

How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, By Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff, et al.

This is a very important book for parents who have kids up to undergrad. For kids older than that relax, its probably too late to do anything and this may not be relevant anyways! The quick onset of the information age has changed lots of things, including parenting. Consider this book an exaggeration of how far helicopter parenting has gone, and what must be done to save our kids and an entire generation. He refers to the generation after Gen Z as the Igen generation. While the author’s narrative is mostly around university students, he does allude a lot to younger children at home. The author not only points out the problem but also provides many great ways of preparing children with techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Some things that I remember even many days after reading this:

1. Divide: The liberal / Conservative divide is showing up more and more in universities. Apparently, the ratio of liberal faculty to conservative faculty is going up and this is not good for publications because now the thrashing out process of peer reviews will have a liberal tilt.
2. Professor Forced Out: The example of a professor in Everett Washington is a good representation of what the book conveys. This progressive professor, showed some reservations against a “Day of Absence” event observed in the university. While this is a voluntary day off by minorities who want to make a statement of their contributions (rightfully so), an expectation of having others too observe this, was in a very non- confrontational way mentioned by the professor. This was not taken well and there was a delayed reaction of protest and the professor was made to leave the university and retire!
3. “Safe” Zones: The expansion of safe zones now encompasses not only physical safety of students but also safety from any opposing views. So much so that in some universities there are safe zones with teddy bears and rooms where students (mind you these are adults) who have been offended by an opposing view can feel better about themselves!
4. Cognitive Distortions: Some basic emotional responses (cognitive distortions) observed in students on campus (anyone is susceptible to these) include –  labelling, catastrophizing, dichotomous thinking, irrational behavior, emotional reasoning, overgeneralizing, mind reading, negative filtering, blaming.
5. Adult Milestones: Adult milestones in kids is getting delayed. It is taking longer for children to get a driver’s license, get their first job. They are discouraged to walk back alone from school even though these are one of the safest time sin history for most neighborhoods.