I’ve spent the past 6-years of my life researching storm and stress, a concept that risky behaviours, conflict with parents, and mental health concerns are higher in adolescence than at other times in life and are stronger in Western culture than in other cultures, which is the case. I recently completely my 65-page literature review for my doctorate on what research out in the world says about storm and stress. In the next months I hope to be able to start my own research on storm and stress in BC.
Part of what my research has taught me is that as we have looked after our children longer and longer (for example, not letting them walk to school at as early of an age, many parents now go with their children to university academic advisor appointments when they never have before in history), their brains have followed suit and taken longer and longer to develop. Our children’s brains have the capacity to be adults in mid-adolescence, but due to us caring for them longer now, our children’s brains are not developed until their mid-late twenties. My bias is towards the idea that this is negative. If our children are capable, let’s let them be!
However, Generations, a book by Jean M. Twenge, discusses the same topic, from a different angle. Twenge cites a model called the life history theory: in the fast life strategy (which parents employed centuries ago), parents would have many children starting young, as death rates were higher, and parents needed at least some children to grow up before they passed. More children also increased chances some would survive. Additionally, parents needed children for labour. With the slow life strategy (which is happening now), parents have fewer children, support them longer, and children grow up slower. People now live longer, death rates are lower, and there is less need for labour in the home, so there is not a rush to have children and no need to have as many children.
I thought Twenge’s discussion of the life history theory a curious twist on the extension of childhood and adolescence that I am studying as a part of storm and stress.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and experiences!!
