1 The Life of a Child Today

2 Children Are More Self-Critical Children report a high level of self- criticism. –50-70% of 8-9 year olds indicate that they don’t believe that they’re worthy of friendship.

3 The Nature of Play Is Different Research has revealed a shift in how, where and with whom children play. –Children spend more of their time indoors; –They’re entertained more frequently; –They’re more likely to entertain themselves through the media; –Physical play is more structured.

4 Higher Awareness of Adult Issues Research reveals that children exhibit a higher awareness of and concern with adult issues, concerns and expectations: Money; Sex; Future career.

5 Getting Older Younger Research suggests that the constellation of behaviors described as “children getting older younger” – and better known as “compression” – is still in place. Recent research reveals that young children: –Graduate from toys at a younger age; –Graduate from young children’s television programming at a younger age; –Are attentive to popular culture at a younger age; –Are engaged with brands at a younger age; –Have a greater voice in family decisions.

6 The 4th-grade Wall In grade-school teacher culture, teachers have the unenviable assignment of teaching to the 4th-grade wall. Since the early ‘90s, we’ve seen an increased acceptance among educators that the “4th-grade wall” has been inherited by third-grade teachers.

7 New Dynamic in Children’s Sense of Self Today we’re observing a new dynamic in children’s sense of self and self-identity. Children in every dimension of their lives are evaluating themselves -- and coming up short -- against idealized images of appearance and behavior.

8 Question for the Future Do the combined phenomena of “compression” and the hyper-vigilant self- criticism exhibited by children today constitute enough of a shift to define them as a cohort and as a generation?