Looking for the perfectable child—from twinkle to toddlerhood.
This essay (which will appear in several parts) sprang out of discussions I’ve been having with Silicon Valley mothers of high school girls. Most of the girls are my daughter’s friends: of the girls are bright, passionate about one academic area or another, and engrossed in something outside of academics—theater, dance, athletics. In short, these are young women to be proud of….and yet we mothers are worrying. We worry that we aren’t pushing our daughters hard enough…and we worry that they are being subjected to too much pressure. The girl with two year-round sports and a 3.298 grade point average is worrying that her grades aren’t high enough (“Two B+, Mom! I could have done better!”). The girl who is carrying three Advanced Placement courses—History, English, and Biology—is worried that her math grade isn’t high enough (it’s a solid B+).
This is just crazy. What is wrong with this picture? What is this incredible push in on 14-to-18 year olds? What happens to these kids when they get to college?
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