Wall Street Journal June 16, 2021
The devaluing of parental care leaves society—and its children—unprepared to deal with stressful events.
There’s a consensus that the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns have created a mental-health crisis, as increasing numbers of children and adolescents suffer with depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. It’s more accurate to say that Covid exacerbated a crisis that was already building.
Although children and teens need better mental-health care, the way to protect children’s mental well-being in the long term is strong parental care from an early age. Many stressors play a role in the current mental health crisis: academic and social pressure, unrealistic parental expectations, political and financial instability, the overpowering presence of social media and other technology, and the loss of community in...