Notes on: The Slow-Life Strategy

'The Slow-Life Strategy' is taken from the course 'Managing Happiness' by Arthur Brooks on edX.org.

Adolescence and Responsibilities

Many parents these days tend to be more protective of their kids than their parents were of them. This is a sign of the times we live in and what Dr. Jean Twenge refers to as the slow living strategy.

In the 1950s the average age for men to get married was 22, and these days it is the late 20s. Most kids back then wouldn't get very far in their education and at 12 or 13 would start working, like on the family farm or as an apprentice. High school was only an invention of the 20th century, and the whole idea of adolescence is a relatively new concept.

Adolescence came about to give kids time of not having responsibilities, and with slow-living the amount of time spent in adolescence seems to be increasing these days. This shift in risk-taking among young people is a larger cultural trend that influences how children are raised to become independent.

The Slow-Life Strategy

Data suggests that people are growing up more slowly and taking less risk. Because they are developing less experiences, they are developing more fear as a result of not learning how to cope.

There are two different life strategies: a slow life strategy is when people have fewer children and nurture them more carefully, and a fast life strategy is when people have many children, but as a result of that, they develop more independence and how to fend for themselves.

In the 1950s the average woman had four kids, but even those that came from smaller families grew up to be independent at a much younger age. These days, people tend to live longer and we have a lot more access to healthcare, and since education takes longer to finish, people started to have less children.

The shift to less children also gives parents the opportunity to nurture them more carefully, protect them and keep them close. These days the average woman has one or two kids, and with this emphasis on furthering your education, there is also this expectation of watching over your children as well, since there are fewer of them. Parents provide more for longer to enable their own children the time they need to further their own education and compete in the modern economy.

Life has slowed down for adults and children alike and because we live longer. 50 is the new 40, and 70 is the new 60.