Imagine a scene in a playground with a child walking with helium balloons tied in his wrist, the other hand pulling the string of a toy car while at the same time holding the lollipop he is happily licking. He is having a great time with all those things but what if suddenly, all of it was gone? Can he still enjoy his time in the playground? I guess not.
This is what’s happening to America right now: Children who do not know the meaning of being sad as all they knew was happiness.
Being sad is a natural part of growing up, sadly, many parents are protecting their children from it. According to Aaron Cooper, PhD who wrote a book on the dangers when parents make happiness the most important thing to their children,
“Without plenty of practice coping with ordinary sadness, upset, disappointment, and hurt, kids don’t develop resilience… And without resilience, they’re vulnerable to all kinds of problems.”
This may be the reason why the use of antidepressants among the youth are on the rise because they do not know hope to cope up with sadness.
Sadly, most parents don’t realize this and end up “being ragged or going into debt just to make their children happy.” Even without the smile on the children’s faces they can still “function adequately” “but many parents are looking for that smile.”
