2 New Normals

While watching the nightly news recently, my husband made an indignant, but compelling remark about one of the many reasons our country has reached a 16 trillion dollar national debt.  I won’t quote him because it wouldn’t be ladylike, but here is the gist…  the American people have been repeatedly (nudged) towards overspending, by those who are large and in charge. 
A fiscal ambush.  
Each time we are pushed out of our comfort zone, we get used to it, settle in and     it becomes the new normal.

I believe that we have also reached a new normal in parenting.  Who’s to say whether it’s harder to raise children in today’s world; but I do feel that it’s considerably more complicated than it used to be.

The Price of Privilege, a New York Times bestseller, by Madeline Levine, Ph.D., eloquently explains this current state.  “In recent years, numerous studies have shown that bright, charming, seemingly confident and socially skilled teenagers from affluent, loving families are experiencing epidemic rates of depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders – materialism, pressure to achieve, perfectionism, and disconnection are combining to create a perfect storm that is devastating children of privilege and their parents alike”.

Levine goes on to say that “privilege is a relative term in this country.  The fact is, the United States is one of the most affluent countries in the world, and large numbers of our children lead lives of privilege unimagined in many places.”

This book hits the nail on the head. 

I would consider it a page-turner of self-help books.