Parenting and family stuff

Putnam believed that the single biggest risk factor was the growing amount of time people spent alone.

Even back when he wrote Bowling Alone —before smartphones and apps—teens were solitary for three-and-a-half hours per day. Adolescents spent more time alone than with their family.

For the first time in history, people were growing up... See more

One of the things that happens as boys are growing up is they learn about a very restrictive version of masculinity, a list of things that you’re not allowed to do or say. Particularly around emotions: You’re allowed to be angry, and you might be able to cry if something’s really bad — like a sports team you’re on loses a really important game, or... See more

In only three generations, children in the British Isles as well as the United States have lost their freedom to roam, their independently explorable territories shrinking from hundreds of acres to the dimensions of each child’s own back yard. This is not an accusation toward parents; their decisions reflect their judgments about their children’s

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addressing the behavior first or only addressing the behavior is a band-aid solution, whether it’s done through punishment or appeasement. It may stop the behavior in the moment, but it never gets to the root of the issue.