From Self-Reliance to Over-Protection: Paula Fass on the History of American Parenting and Childhood

In nineteenth century America, children were expected to help around the house and in the fields. That’s in stark contrast to today’s prolonged adolescence and helicopter parenting, which UC Berkeley historian Paula Fass says delays a child’s path to maturity. Fass, author of the new book, “The End of American Childhood: A History of Parenting from Life on the Frontier to the Managed Child,” joins us to discuss how parenting and childhood have evolved through American history.