http://arlenegoldbard.com/2006/05/23/regeneration/ culture, politics and spirituality Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:37:48 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://arlenegoldbard.com/2006/05/23/regeneration/comment-page-1/#comment-877 Arlene Goldbard » Blog Archive » Balancing Acts Mon, 29 May 2006 17:48:36 +0000 http://arlenegoldbard.com/?p=187#comment-877 [...] Last week, in one of my essays on generation gaps, I wrote this: Both readers wondered whether an apparent lack of interest in roots and antecedents (and the feeling that tossed-off work is good enough) stems from the ultra-permissive parenting style of many in our own generational cohort. That brought to mind kids whose lot in life was to make up for the restrictions and emotional deprivations of their parents’ childhoods: kids who were given no boundaries, who had perpetual license to talk without being expected to listen in return, who were praised extravagantly and equally for everything they did and made. That child-rearing regime seems to produce remarkable self-confidence, a good thing that becomes its opposite in adulthood when it is unmoored by actual ability or achievement. [...] [...] Last week, in one of my essays on generation gaps, I wrote this: Both readers wondered whether an apparent lack of interest in roots and antecedents (and the feeling that tossed-off work is good enough) stems from the ultra-permissive parenting style of many in our own generational cohort. That brought to mind kids whose lot in life was to make up for the restrictions and emotional deprivations of their parents’ childhoods: kids who were given no boundaries, who had perpetual license to talk without being expected to listen in return, who were praised extravagantly and equally for everything they did and made. That child-rearing regime seems to produce remarkable self-confidence, a good thing that becomes its opposite in adulthood when it is unmoored by actual ability or achievement. [...]

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