Episode #35:

Anxiety vs. Autonomy 

Have you heard of the new book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt?  From PBS to TikTok – everyone’s talking about it.  And when something strikes a chord this deeply across our culture, it means something big is resonating.

And here’s the headline – our young adults are showing more signs of anxiety and depression than ever before. And Haidt draws a very convincing connection between how modern parents have overprotected our children in the real world and underprotected them online.

BIG food for thought.

Many of the solutions to help “rewire” the next generations will take collective action.  

But there is also A LOT we can do as parents to change course as well.

On today’s “Good Enough Parenting” podcast, I share how one way we can reduce anxiety in our kids is to foster their AUTONOMY.

Kids who feel a sense of self-efficacy (the belief that I can achieve a certain outcome) are less anxious (anxiety comes from feeling out of control). And self-efficacy comes from experiencing autonomy.

Whether it’s picking out their own clothes, ordering for themselves at restaurants or making their own mac & cheese – when we loosen the reins and expect our kids to step up, everybody wins.

Kids feel more in control and confident and parents get to do less and enjoy more. And that’s a good enough start to creating a less anxious generation.