Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber posted a letter that appeared in the Guardian written by academics (including Harry Brighouse’s dad) about their concerns with child development in the modern age.

As professionals and academics from a range of backgrounds, we are deeply concerned at the escalating incidence of childhood depression and children’s behavioural and developmental conditions. We believe this is largely due to a lack of understanding, on the part of both politicians and the general public, of the realities and subtleties of child development.

Since children’s brains are still developing, they cannot adjust – as full-grown adults can – to the effects of ever more rapid technological and cultural change. They still need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed “junk”), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first-hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives.

They also need time. In a fast-moving hyper-competitive culture, today’s children are expected to cope with an ever-earlier start to formal schoolwork and an overly academic test-driven primary curriculum. They are pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material which would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past.

They ask for policy-makers to start talking about ways to improve the lives of children.

First of all, yay! Let’s put kids on the public policy agenda. Let’s talk about whether or video games are bad for kids, whether parents spend enough time with their kids, whether the demands of the workplace have a negative impact on children. Let’s talk about whether there is an increase in childhood depression, suicide, and sexual abuse. Let’s not sweep these discussions under the rug with “kids are resilient” or “you’re just an old fart.” I’m not sure how bad things are. I’m not sure how bad video games are for kids. I just want a national-wide discussion about these topics with childhood development experts, teachers, and sociologists.

If it is found that kids need more down time with parents, less videos and computers, better food, and all the other recommendations that were in this letter, then I want public policy built around those recommendations. What can we do? Tax credits can be given to parents who wish not to work full time. Universal health care would be a biggie. Other ideas: free parenting classes, marriage counseling, universal preschool education, longer parental leave policies. Other ideas?

The fear is that by putting children on the top of the agenda that this will have a negative impact on women. I don’t think that should be the case. I never understood why conservatives have cornered the market on kids and families. This agenda could enable more men to stay home with their kids and take the responsibility for kids from the private, female domain and make it a societal issue. I think that this discussion would be good for women.