Compare this news about teens and their inflated self-esteem to Jean’s post A four year old who knows she needs a saviour! Which do you think is child abuse? Giving a false sense of accomplishment or teaching them the truth according to Scripture?

U.S. Teens Brimming With Self-Esteem

“These kids didn’t raise themselves, they got these ideas from somewhere,” Twenge said. With Mom and Dad handing out endless praise, kids today readily believe they are somehow superior, she said. And teachers aren’t blameless, either: According to Twenge, research shows that high school teachers now give out an “A” grade more easily than their counterparts did in the 1970s, even though today’s high school students report doing less homework than students from that era.

They Like Themselves – Albert Mohler

All this reminds me of Garrison Keillor’s fictional community of Lake Woebegon, where all of the kids are “above average.” That simply isn’t possible, but there is good reason to believe that many current parenting strategies imply that it is.

In recent years, some observers have warned that children are not well served when parents lavish them with inordinate praise or with unrealistic assessments. The culture of earned recognition has given way to sports teams that award a trophy to every player and to contests in which every participant wins.

Generation-too-big-for-their-britches?

So, let me get this straight: If we don’t want to raise selfish, narcissistic, all-about-me children who will likely grow up to become selfish, narcissistic, all-about-me adults, then we’d be wise to employ more “authoritative parenting” and “less indulgence.” As I thought more about the author’s conclusion that parents and teachers are to blame for this emerging crop of over-confident teens, I must say that I wholeheartedly agree.