When those of us who are over 30 were kids – we ran around the neighborhood, seldom saw our parents during the day, climbed trees, biked everywhere and generally self governed.

Kids of today – mine included – spend more time inside, more time with their parents supervising (or at least in proximity), less time with peers and more time in organized activity. And none of that to mention the access to knowledge and the world on their smartphone. What does this mean for our children in their 20s and 30s as they start their life without their parents…

My son is 14 today. I remember the day he was born and asking the nurses “are you sure I’m ready to parent?!” All these years later- I’m still not sure I’m ready as his world is so different than the one I grew up in. Like the China tariff/trade war – I may not be able to judge success or failure for another 15 years.

Nonetheless, as parents, we do the best we can with what we are given. For his birthday – I am buying him a paperback called “tell your therapist I wasn’t a horrible father because I gave you a cell phone as a kid”. Kidding. That’s not a real book. Yet.