Have we been doing more harm than good with our current programs to promote "high esteem" among children?

Question

According to a study of psychologists, we have raised of generation of narcisstic and self-centered college students. They blame it on the initiatives (both at home and at school) which are meant to promote self-esteem. What do you think?
(Article) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070227/ap_on_re_us/self_centered_students

Answer 1

It's hilarious. You used to see bumper stickers boasting about one's honor student. Now they're issuing bumper stickers to tout that one's child "is a student at_______."

Let's celebrate mediocrity.

The movie "The Incredibles" said it best: "When everybody's special, no one is."

Answer 2

I don't think that the problem falls with trying to promote self esteem, but that along with that, someone decided that it would be a good idea to take away personal responsibility. It seems as if it has become a bad idea to allow people (children included) to be held responsible for their own actions. If a child is taught there will be no consequences for bad behavior and they may act in any manner they so choose with out being held accountable, they are more apt to become self centered and narcissistic.

Answer 3

The way I understand it - we have totally took away children's free time. Everything is scheduled. I don't have any kids, but I notice my neices and nephews are pretty dependant upon these schedules. when I talk to them, stories come up when I was a kid, how we used to roam the country side, spend time skipping stones across the water, playing marbles, spending a lot of time with other friends my age, we got jobs as caddies at Medina Country Club (now that was a 'learning experience'). All kinds of things I did when I was a kid, maybe 12 to 16 years old. My nephews are about 18 to 20 years old and to them it sounds unbelievable. They've been going to supervised 'everything'. I hardly saw my parents when I was a kid. We were too busy playing, especially during summer break.
Of course I understand people are a lot more careful these days because of 'predators'. I grew up in different times. No bicycle helmets, old used baseball gloves, hand-me-downs, swimming in mud holes. George Carlin says it best when he says when they were kids they never got sick because they used to swim in the East River. They had an immune system like steel. And the kid who ate the marbles didn't make it because he wasn't supposed to pass his dumb-a?? genes down.
Kids grow up these days and by the time they are ready to work, they think they're going to have a starting salary of $50,000 a year. And what is this stuff I hear that baseball, soccer, etc., don't keep score because they want everyone to be winners - they don't want to let kids know how it feels to fail. Come on - that's important stuff for kids to learn. Failure is just as big a part of life as success.

Answer 4

We have raised a bunch of children who are rude, impolite and expect the world to cater to them. This has been done on TV where we make parents look like idiots on sit-coms. This has been done by a whole marketing industry who has targeted sales at kids and the parents feel that the kids have to have that item. We have taken discipline out of the home and in school and made our kids little "legal eagles" who will call your local social service agency if you punish them. At the same time, we take gifted kids and have little to offer them in the schools. My grandson is gifted but cannot go into challenge classes because he is disruptive in class. Duh. Maybe he is disruptive because he is bored. We mainstream handicapped kids into the regular classroom but dont move our gifted kids on. This is not a negative for handicapped kids, but it is a negative that gifted often wind up in BD classes instead of challenge classes. We have taken away most rites of passage such as holding hands before jumping in bed. Proms have turned into miniature weddings. Kids are drving nicer cars than their parents. How about putting yourself through college instead of parents second mortgaging homes. We have totally blown our focus away. And these pampered kids enrage the children of poor minorities who feel that all the "must have items" can only be obtained by wealthy folks. I dont think we have raised kids self esteem so much as we have given them too much control over their lives and they needed guidance and discipline which has has been denied them. I think this is why so many kids are ADD and so many kids are now on antidepressants and tranquilizers.

Answer 5

I think if God does not go back into schools, the world will end sooner than expected.

Answer 6

the new ''THING" is, not self esteem, but SELF CONTROL, we've been doing it wrong all these generations...who knew?

Answer 7

don't be ridiculous

we don't do enough
to support our children emotionally

if our children are lacking balance
in caring about others (as well as they care about themselves)
the fault lies w/the parents

Answer 8

less love in familys thats the whole problem