A child centred world

The Australian

letters Friday 6th August 2021

If censorship by big tech is alarming, then the alacrity with which some sections of Australia have embraced cancel culture is more so. We have a generation who faced the perfect storm: a child centred classroom in which woke-infused ideology is favoured over fact; a society that has replaced merit with a celebration of victimhood; and a growing acceptance that words are a form of violence.

We live in a world of child worship. While we continue to deliver exalted little princelings fresh from a child-centred home, we contribute to the problem. While we bestow endless empty praise on our children, we are creating needy adults who require constant approval. While we prioritise our children’s perpetual happiness over their development into likeable, mature adults, they will not learn how to face up to the rigours of life.

We lament the loss of debate, are horrified at the muzzling of those who disagree and are concerned about the fragility of our youth. But if we raise children who never hear the unpalatable, what else do we expect?

Gerard Baker (“What if we’re reliving the ’70s with no Reagan to save the day?”, 3/8) warned us that any reversal of the “tide of progressive hegemony” would have to start with the bottom. And so it does. With us. And with parent-centred homes.

Jane Bieger, Brisbane