- TLC/Rebecca Drobis
- A contestant prepares for a West Virginia beauty pageant in TLC'™s "Toddlers & Tiaras."
Children have always been curious about adult roles. When I was young, my sister and I often played a game called “GrownUp.” We would dress in our mother’s clothes, say the rosary, and use words like “disappointed.” We poured tea and pretended to be more mature than any other 6 and 7-year-old in the neighborhood.
Children still play grownup today, but without the benefit of pretending.
French Vogue recently featured a 10-year-old in sexy photos while Real Madrid signed a seven year-old to its professional soccer team. Here in America, reality programs like Dance Moms and Toddlers & Tiaras feature young children displaying aggression that would embarrass a Wall Street tycoon. ESPN features young boys crying and distraught during its annual coverage of the Little League World Series.
All around us, children are dealing with complex emotions and circumstances that would land most adults in therapy or jail. Mental health counselors see it every day.
Patricia Dunn-Fierstein, a Licensed Social Worker and child therapist from Tampa, has been working with children for over 30 years. In some ways, she believes kids are required to take on more today than in the past. “I’m seeing a lot of anxiety in the culture about success and that anxiety is trickling down to children,” she said.
She sees this even in her youngest patients. Many modern homes build master bedrooms quite far from where the children sleep. Anxiety starts there, with toddlers having trouble throughout the night.
“Move into the guest room for a few months,” Dunn-Fierstein tells her parents. “We weren’t meant to be miles away from our kids. Other cultures would be aghast.”
The alarmingly high rate of divorce certainly doesn’t help. According to Dunn-Fierstein, overworked parents might not understand or be capable of helping their kids. So she sees a rush within these children to grow up way too soon.
Jean Anton, a Licensed Mental Health counselor working with kids in Hillsborough County for over 25 years, has similar concerns. She identified traumatic divorce, as well as negative images in the media and technology, for forcing kids to think about things they might not be ready for emotionally.
