In a new “Sunday Special” interview, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro spoke to author Abigail Shrier about the worsening mental health crisis among today’s youth.
During their hour-long discussion, Shapiro asked Shrier about some of the themes in her latest book, “Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up,” released in February.
Shrier posits that the youngest generation might be less resilient because they are encouraged to focus on their bad feelings under the guise of working them out. Therapy, she suggests, might not be helping as much as we think it is.
“Let’s talk about what’s ailing the kids,” Shapiro began, noting there has been a “systemic change in therapy” in recent years. He asked Shrier whether she believes smartphones and social media could be a significant issue for children as well.
Shrier responded that “a lot of harms” come from kids having phones, “but does it totally explain the mental health decline of young people? No, it clearly doesn’t.”
Shrier cited federal data showing that children eight and under, who are not usually on social media, also have high rates of mental health or behavioral diagnoses.
“It isn’t just a question of the phones,” she said. “It’s also a question of the unhealthy life we’ve given kids which includes this constant therapy, this constant sense from schools, from parents, and yes from therapists that there’s something wrong with them, that they have trauma, and that they need a diagnosis and medication.”
“Shyness. We never hear a kid described as shy. They have social phobia or social anxiety,” Shrier added. “Every child who’s inattentive is told they have ADHD.”
Later in the discussion, Shapiro noted, “We’re telling kids that they ought to be coddled, because we’ve told adults that they ought to be coddled.”
“No one says to a child, ‘Shake it off. You’re fine,'” Shrier agreed. “No one is telling kids even at a small level that they can overcome minor injuries, so they don’t think they can.”
Shapiro also asked Shrier for her advice to parents currently considering where to send their children to school.
“Number one, parental authority. Kids need your authority,” Shrier said. “Make sure that we communicate our values to our kids. We’re doing a lousy job of that in the country, and we send them off to school where teachers can’t wait to pass on their values to your kids, so don’t let that happen.”
“Everyone’s obsessed with making kids. happy. We should be more focused on making them strong,” she said.