"Baby Boomer parents raising a Smug Generation"

...or so it was reported today in several newspapers - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3485888/Baby-Boomer-parents-are-breeding-a-Smug-Generation.html Several pieces of research claims that children of the 50's and 60's (so called 'Baby Boomers') are engulfing their children with too much confidence....making them arrogant and full of misguided self worth. The research suggests that children's expectations of achievement are high but their ability to work hard towards success is low - basically - they expect it on a plate. In a nutshell, youth of today are far more narcissistic than their parents were....because of the way they are being brought up.
Intrigued by this report I delved a little deeper....so let's clear a few thing up at the onset.....First of all: the research is based on America's youth..... not the UK's; and furthermore...this isn't new stuff either; the research to which they are referring is in a book called "Generation Me" by an American Professor based in San Diego University....the book came out in 2006! My guess (and it's only an assumption) is that this is getting 'press space' because of the recent 'wild' reports that are fuelling peoples perception on the uk's youth. .....(a bit of the popular media saying......"I know!....Let's blame the parents now...and here's some research to prove it" (at face value many won't realise that it's evidence gathered from a completely different culture 2 years ago!))
A further report in defence of the suggestions documented in the 'Generation Me' book was published in the New York Times in January 2008: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/fashion/17narcissism.html?pagewanted=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Organizations/M/Michigan%20State%20University&_r=1
Here, different 'wise' professors suggest that actually todays youth are no more 'narcissistic' than 30 years ago........ funnily enough - this bit didn't make it to our papers......

I'm not saying it's invalid research here - but I don't think it officially confirms the image the article was written to reflect. It's always a good idea to check the research that the press use as their 'specialist knowledge back up.'

Now...... as parents, whilst myself and David adore our children, we both are great belivers that it is vital that they develop personal drive and determination to achieve success.......whilst we transmit this to them as frequently as we praise their achievements......we also realise that this drive and determination is a quality that has to come from them..... and it's something they are only likely to gain only when they are faced with failure......the lesson is that we can't always win and that's ok - we hope our children know that we'll love them anyway...and that they have the drive and determination to get up, apply a bit of effort and have another go!