Welcome to Children At the moment! I’m Anna North, a senior correspondent at Vox protecting coverage and tradition, and at this time, I’m launching a Vox publication that can have me in readers’ inboxes weekly with tales about Era Alpha (folks born between 2010 and 2024) and American childhood. It’s a publication about youngsters — for everybody. When you’d prefer to obtain it, join right here.
I’m a dad or mum of two younger youngsters, however I’m not right here to speak to you about parenting. For that, I like to recommend Sara Petersen or Angela Garbes. On this publication, I wish to concentrate on the expertise of really being a child in America proper now.
Childhood in 2024 is an extremely fraught subject. We’re all attempting to make sense of the aftermath of a pandemic, the impression of social media, and the consequences of local weather change and battle on the world youngsters develop up in. Kids have additionally taken an outsize function within the upcoming presidential election, with Sen. JD Vance and others arguing that having youngsters is a patriotic responsibility, and never having them makes you “deranged.”
A part of my objective with this article is to get deep into a few of the most heated debates round up to date childhood and offer you an accessible, panic-free have a look at what’s actually occurring. I fear about youngsters at this time (the demographic, not this article, though I’m positive I’ll fear about it too) as a lot as anybody, however I additionally know that each era has freaked out concerning the kids on its garden, and I wish to strategy at this time’s scary headlines with a dose of skepticism.
I additionally wish to deliver you a portrait of Gen Alpha that tackles what’s distinctive about this group of younger Individuals, in addition to what they’ve in widespread with Gen Z, millennials, and past. We reside in a time of intense and fast-paced generational warfare, and whereas a few of that’s fairly enjoyable and humorous, I additionally wish to have a look at the place these generalizations fall quick.
I’ll acknowledge that I’m an imperfect information to the world of children. As a grownup, I’m inherently uncool. I’ll by no means perceive child tradition in addition to youngsters themselves do. My very own older child likes to name me “Man Who Doesn’t Know Something.”
That stated, I’ve been speaking to youngsters — from preschoolers to youngsters — as a part of my reporting course of for almost a decade now. I’m dedicated to assembly youngsters on their degree, with curiosity, openness, and honesty. Whereas I’ll positively speak to grownup consultants for this article, I’ll be bringing you the voices of precise youngsters every time potential.
Children are us earlier than our filters absolutely developed, when the world was nonetheless recent and unusual and complicated. Children are unpredictable. (My 6-year-old, for instance, simply requested me if worms can do yoga. Sure?)
However youngsters are additionally good and considerate. They’ve sharp insights concerning the world at this time, and concerning the future once they’ll be in cost. I’m excited to be taught from them, and I hope you might be too.
Subsequent week, you’ll get a full publication from me about what youngsters take into consideration “Gen Alpha” as an idea — how they see their very own era, and what they give thought to TikToks and information tales that criticize them. Within the meantime, right here’s slightly of what I’m studying and serious about as summer time winds down:
- College provide lists are all the time a problem this time of yr — with district budgets usually inadequate, households or academics find yourself on the hook for buying the whole lot from pencils to graphing calculators. I’m additionally taken with how youngsters take into consideration back-to-school procuring, and to what extent the monetary stresses of this course of trickle right down to them.
- Children’ relationship to nature is decided extra by their socioeconomic standing than by whether or not they reside within the metropolis or the suburbs, in accordance with a brand new research.
- Extra states are transferring to place chaplains in public faculties, regarding some who fear that these clergy members could proselytize, or supply counseling to college students with out correct mental-health coaching.
- Child-friendly dance events, the place dad and mom can get pleasure from home music with toddlers in tow, are apparently on the rise in Brooklyn. I used to be ready to be aggravated by this however truly it’s candy.
- Proper now my older child is obsessively watching Bread Barbershop, an animated present a few slice of bread who’s a barber.
- My little child doesn’t wish to learn Spring is Right here, by Taro Gomi, a soothing story concerning the inevitable biking of seasons that helped preserve me sane in the course of the pandemic. He desires to learn a e book that makes vrooming sounds, and that I can’t identify.
A last word: I’d love to listen to your questions on youngsters and childhood, whether or not you’re a dad or mum, a childfree grownup, or a child! (Children with questions on grownups are additionally welcome to jot down in.) Are there subjects you need me to cowl? Experiences you wish to share? You may attain me at anna.north@vox.com.
