Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes

248 Pages·2004·9.37 MB·English

by  Mary Eberstadt

HOME-ALONE
AMERICA
The Hidden Toll of Day Care,
Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes
Mary
Eberstadt
L
U.S. $25.95
Canada$38.00
It might be ost taboo question
in Ameriu What do today's
;
unprecedented numbers of absent
parents really mean for children?
Why are recordnumbers ofchildren andteenagers now
diagnosed with psychiatric problems ofall kinds: con-
ADD?
duct disorders, depression, anxieties,
Whyaremillionsofkids, moreeveryyear, takingRitalin
—
and other drugs for behavioral problems a trend that
virtually everyone thinks has gone too far but no one
seems able to stop?
Why is child obesity at levels never before seen in our
history?
Why areteenagerscontractingherpesand othersexually
transmitted diseases, including incurable and cancer-
related viruses, at alarming rates?
In Home-Alone America, Mary Eberstadt offers an
answerthat's widely suspected but too politically incor-
rect to say out loud. A few decades ago, most children
camehome from school toamotherwhomonitoredtheir
diets, prevented sexual activity or delinquency by her
mere presence, and provided a basic emotional safety
net. Mostchildrenalso livedwiththeirbiological fathers,
whose presence conferred other protections, including
plain old-fashioned supervision.
But today, many mothers work outside the home and
many fathers are unmarried or divorced and living far
away. Moreover, many children do not have a grand-
parent or even a sibling nearbyto fill the void left by
absent parents. As a result, too many kids now feel like
—
justanotherchore tobe outsourced droppedoffatday
care, handed over to a nanny, left in front ofa televi-
sion or the Internet, or often simply sequestered home
alone with easy accer to all kinds oftrouble.
(continuedon backflap) 1104
Boston Public Library
MA
Boston, 02116

Home-Alone America
f

HOME-ALONE
AMERICA
The Hidden Toll ofDay Care, BehavioralDrugs,
and Other Parent Substitutes
Mary
Eberstadt
SENTINEL
1
SENTINEL
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Firstpublished in 2004 bySentinel,
amemberofPenguin Group (USA) Inc.
987654321
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Copyright© MaryEberstadt, 2004
All rights reserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data
Eberstadt, Mary.
Home-aloneAmerica : thehidden tollofdaycare, behavioral drugs, andotherparent
substitutes/ Mary Eberstadt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical referencesand index.
ISBN 1-59523-004-1
— —
1. Childrenofworki—ngmothers UnitedStates. 2. Parenting UnitedStates.
3. Parentaldeprivation United States. I. Title.
HQ777.6.E242004
306.874—dc22 200405473
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper.
Printedin theUnitedStatesofAmerica
SetinAdobeGaramond
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To the memory ofmy mother,
Kathryn Savoy,
andto mystepfather,
William RoyalSavoy