Cocooning our kids
New Zealand Listener|November 04-10 2023
Anxiety and depression are skyrocketing among our young. While the pandemic and digital media are factors, many experts point the finger at overprotective parenting.
SARAH CATHERALL
Cocooning our kids

For Gwendoline Smith, safety nets enveloping backyard trampolines sum it up - we are literally cocooning kids from discomfort. "When I first saw them, I thought: give me a break. Before they came along, you were bounced off but you learned," says Smith, an Auckland clinical psychologist and author. "You paid attention and if you didn't, the consequences were that your legs got caught between the springs, or you landed on the ground and you were bruised.

"The trampoline cages reveal a wider problem. We are taking away lessons in consequential thinking: 'If I do this, that will happen.' No, because if it looks like that might happen, Mum will helicopter in and make sure it doesn't."

Smith is articulating what many professionals who work with young people are noting. Anxiety and depression reported in Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are at record highs, but at the same time, there is a noticeable increase in parents' willingness to shield children from the rougher edges of life, from enclosed trampolines to demands for kid-glove treatment on supposed adventurous activities. Could there be a causal relationship?

According to the Youth 19 project, a large scale study in 2019 of secondary school students, 23% had depressive symptoms (up from 13% seven years earlier), with depression hitting young females, Māori and young people in low-decile communities harder than most. There is agreement that it is important to open up about mental health and get help for those who need it, especially as 2015 data showed New Zealand had the highest suicide rate for teens aged 15-19 in the OECD.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView all
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024