Historically, college has been the big breaking point between childhood and adult life; when our parents went off to college they became truly independent of their parents, learning to live and function completely on their own as they moved away to school. Does that still stand true today? Are we learning to be completely independent when we go off to school?
It is partly true and partly false. It is true that some kids in the millennial generation move away to school and never look back, completely crossing the bridge into adult life, living and functioning independent of their parents. More times than not, however, we are seeing the millennials of today still relying on parents for longer and longer after they turn 18 and become technically "adults." Parents of today still schedule doctors appointments, do laundry, help with homework, and many other things that are associated with childhood. Is college just turning into a big kid's extension of high school?
Rewind to the 1950s, 1960s, and maybe 1970s when the parents of today were born and raised. There we saw a parenting scene that was drastically different from the parents of today. This was the time period when kids were expected to entertain themselves, schedule their own activities, and basically be completely independent from middle school on- as long as they were home and washed up by the time dinner started. This was the era of little league baseball games that parents rarely attended- or even knew about. Kids would ride their bicycles to activities and play outside with their friends unbeknownst to their parents. School was separate from family life. Kids were much more independent than today's children.
Fast forward back to the here and now and everything has changed. My parents were hugely active in my life- and still are. I don't think I ever spent a minute of my childhood hood where I was completely unaccounted for by my parents, let alone a time when they weren't helping me with every step of my life. Don't get me wrong, I definitely would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for their guidance and love, but it is a drastically different home life experience than the kids in the generation before us experienced. Parents today accompany kids to college interviews, med school interviews, residency interviews, etc. It is a much more involved parent child relationship than ever before.
Is this hurting millennials? Could this be the reason that people are entering the professional world later and later? Certain medical programs around the country have even seriously considered adding an extra year to residency because they are finding young doctors more and more unfit for individual practice when they are 28-30. Thirty years old. That is seriously old to be considered unfit to practice on your own. The argument can definitely be made that millennials are losing their sense of independence due to the modern day childhood.
Not that growing up at a slower pace is necessarily a bad thing, but it will have interesting implications and effects once millennials begin to take over the professional world. With all of the technology, inventions, and advances made as we have grown up, as well as major societal changes, it may take some time to adjust.
