Young Americans

American kids and their parents navigating the twenty-first century.

David Anderegg, Ph.D. is a clinical and developmental psychologist on the faculty of Bennington College and a child therapist in private practice in Lenox, Massachusetts. See full bio

August 6, 2008

Kid-sickness: the final word

Summer camp season is almost over, so I guess we need to get to the punch line about what drives the sad phenomenon of "kid-sickness," that awful visceral feeling that life isn't worth living while your kid is away at camp. So, being a therapist and all, I guess I'll ask you a question: why do you hate your kid so much?

July 30, 2008

Kid-sickness: the state of nature?

They seem weirdly pathological, those parents who desperately sit by the mailbox waiting for a letter from their child at camp, or those who frantically search the camp's website looking for a candid picture of their child. But maybe they're not: maybe they're just the wave of the future.

July 21, 2008

Kid-sick? Really?

It's that time of year again: parents have done their shopping, labeling and packing, and driven six hours one-way to drop their kids off at sleep-away camp. And then, with the kids safely dropped off at Camp No-Ko-Me-Ko-No, the parents drive home, kick off their shoes, pour themselves a drink and start enjoying every parent's dream: the kid-free summer! Does this sound familiar? Uh...sorry. Wrong decade. That was the fifties.

July 9, 2008

Karl Marx on the Playground

No, I am not a Marxist, although, like many of my generation, I fancied myself one when I was in college. But I am still occasionally an economic determinist, which means, to me, that sometimes the solution to apparently complex social problems can be found by following a relatively simple rule: follow the money.

June 18, 2008

Care for a mixed massage?

Why do we as a society present our children with such conflicting options, values, and expectations for behavior? Are we trying to drive them crazy? Read More

June 5, 2008

On the (Red) Carpet

Ever been to a prom walk-in? The event in which seniors get their names announced and then walk in to their proms on a red carpet...behind ropes? While their sad, desperate middle-aged parents play the part of sad, desperate middle-aged paparazzi at the Academy Awards? And did it creep you out? Read More

May 10, 2008

Little Greedheads

Are kids just naturally greedy? Read More

May 3, 2008

This Nip Is Not a Bite :)

So kids use informal language...is that bad? Read More

April 25, 2008

A Rising Tide Sinks All Boats

It's 25 years since "A Nation at Risk." What have our children learned? Read More

April 18, 2008

The Desperate Season

Time to pick a college...now what? Read More

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