American Coddle

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American Coddle | The New York Observer

Manhattan these days may just be Ground Zero for the TMPR epidemic. With two-and now three-generations of privileged parents “correcting” the sternness (or imagined sternness) of their own upbringing by telling their children they can do anything they put their minds to, upper-middle-class kids now routinely think they have no weaknesses, and that they have every right-not just every chance-to succeed.

It all begins with what one Upper East Side pediatrician, Dr. Ralph López, who specializes in adolescents, calls “overindulged child syndrome.” “One of my pet peeves is to hear parents praising a child’s accomplishments as if they’re professionals,” he said. “A child who draws very well is a great artist, a child who dances very well is a great dancer. That implies that they are able to replicate every good performance. Instead, I’d like to hear parents praise the event, what they did. That’s a very different compliment; it doesn’t fill the child with expectations of being a great artist,” he added. “You’ve built up the popinjay to the point where they don’t have the credentials and skill to prove it.”