In these families, parents become over-involved in every detail of their children s academic, athletic, and social lives.
Contemporary children get so much more than basic schooling.
Many also participate on one or more teams, have lessons in music, art, foreign language, and are tutored in school subjects. They insist that kids who are barely awake sit for seven a.m. piano lessons and that high-schoolers manicure their resumes to fit profiles elite colleges supposedly are looking for. This is happening because many contemporary parents see a parent s fundamental job as designing a perfect upbringing for their offspring, from conception to college. That is why the most competitive adult sport is no longer golf. It is parenting.