In Their Own Words

Children who are overwhelmed by stress or plagued by emptiness, who are unable to concentrate or pay attention, who lack a conscience and exude apathy, or are obsessed with media-induced trends, give us much to consider. Pierce takes a hard look at the emerging data on the effects of daycare, the hyper-structuring of children with endless activities, and our moral-philosophical priorities. She documents how these have spelled the death of childhood-the most crucial stage in human development. Steeped in intellectual permissiveness, we have convinced ourselves that parental substitutes are as good as parents themselves at caring for children, that more lessons and sports are better than less and that the earlier children embark upon them the better and that innocence and knowledge are less important than worldly attitudes and competitive skills. Could it be that America's thrust forward leaves children without a solid foundation upon which to grow? This is the question asked, and ultimately answered in this sobering book.