loss of childhood?
I occassionally here comments in the media or from people about how kids, teens in particular, no longer can enjoy "childhood" because of the expectations put on them, such as homework, activities, etc.
Those kind of comments seem a bit ridiculous to me. Where did we come up with the notion that you are not expected to be a contributing member of society until you are 21? In many previous generations you were already working, married, and possibly with kids by then.
I feel like these sorts of comments idealize what it means to be a kid, or a teen, rather than be realistic. I think we expect too little out of ourselves as a society, honestly, not too much.