The Collapse of Parenting

In The Collapse of Parenting, physician and psychologist Leonard Sax argues that American children and adolescents are increasingly struggling with anxiety, depression, obesity, and disrespect because parental authority has eroded over the past several decades. Sax contends that well-meaning parents have ceded influence to a "culture of disrespect" driven by peers, screens, and a therapeutic emphasis on children's happiness rather than their maturity. The result, he claims, is a generation of kids who are anxious, fragile, and dependent well into adulthood. Sax develops several distinctive frameworks to explain this shift. One is the contrast between "parenting" and "befriending": he argues that too many parents now prioritize being liked by their children over exercising authority, which undermines the hierarchy children actually need to feel secure. Another is his concept of "the power of the peer group," which he says has replaced the family as the primary source of identity and values for many young people. He also discusses the role of medication and diagnosis, cautioning that behavioral problems once addressed through discipline and structure are now too often managed pharmaceutically. The book is not a research monograph but a clinician's argument built from Sax's observations and case examples from his practice, along with references to studies on sleep, media use, and family dynamics. He recommends concrete measures such as limiting screen time, insisting on family dinners, teaching humility, and reclaiming parental authority with warmth and consistency. The title's claim is deliberately provocative: Sax believes the solution lies not in more permissive accommodation but in restoring the parent-child hierarchy that he says has been lost. The book was published in 2015 and became a widely discussed entry in the ongoing debate about modern American child-rearing.