A Crisis of Self-Regulation—and How To Help

A surprising problem has quietly been developing in the current generation of children: they are out of control. A recent study of first-graders found they could sit still for no more than three minutes, only a quarter of the time that their peers could in 1948. In the era of the helicopter parent, children seem to have lost the ability to regulate their behavior and emotions. Journalist Katherine Reynolds Lewis has been investigating this crisis and documents a new theory of discipline that could help children be more self-disciplined, confident, and better equipped to handle the challenges they'll face in life—and let parents finally stop wondering what they're doing wrong.

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