Child Development

Monday I head for Shalom Mountain, 16-year-old son in tow, to drop him off for that retreat center's annual "Young Adult Shalom Retreat". Later in the week he'll be joined by his 12-year-old brother as the week morphs into a "Teen Gathering". This will be my elder son's third such retreat, my younger son's first. All three of us are very, very excited, because we know what a fabulous time they will have.

As I was reading this week's articles on health from the Washington Post, I came across an article that confirms my suspicions about what this annual trek to the Catskills means to my sons, and why it's so important. Sandra Boodman reports on a new book by psychologist Madeline Levine, "The Price of Privilege", reporting that our culture-wide mania to have our children excel in all endeavors has created a generation of miserable, unhappy folk.

Imagine that.