Why isn't my generation combating our children's chutzpah?
Maybe The Look is extinct, I don’t know. But I do know that (in my extremely unscientific observations) there has been a direct and clear link to the loss of The Look and the rise of pure, unmitigated chutzpah.
My kids are normal: they fight with their siblings, then giggle and hug each other minutes later (then immediately revert back to fighting); they leave socks on the floor; they use their crayons to scrawl notes to me that make me tear up.
I’ve also noticed that they usually go through stages of particular challenges one at a time, which I find extremely considerate. Recently, my oldest was struggling with chutzpah — reacting explosively to instructions or directions he didn’t agree with, and including insults or commentary about my husband or me.
We addressed it, and continue to address it, but — perhaps because I was so attuned to my child’s behavior — I began noticing this pattern everywhere. When I asked a friend if she had suggestions for dealing with chutzpah, she told me she’s been dealing with it in spades, and noticing it in the kids of her siblings and friends. Which got me thinking. Are we experiencing a chutzpah epidemic?
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