Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges

I remember reading an article a couple or so years ago (can't remember where or when and I only have a hazy recollection of its content), however I think it was along the lines of over-praising children. By always praising them effusively for everything they do and not pointing out occasionally where they may have failed or could do better, parents were not preparing them for real life.
Coupled with school sports which were becoming less competitive, exam grades where A* had to be introduced (A was a great achievement when I was at school) we were in danger of setting them up for an inability to cope when they became young adults out in the world.

Of course, praise where praise is due is a good adage, but if given as a constant diet a child could be bewildered when reality hits them head on.

I hope mine went off able to cook, cope and manage money. However hard you try, though, some will always be better at managing their finances than others!

Having read the article I think it's symptomatic of behaviour today, crying and hugging it's everywhere and it takes very little to trigger it. I often wonder how our parents' generation would have got through the war if they were as wet as some appear to be today. My son told me when he was in his first year he spent a couple of hours comforting a fellow student in his hall of residence who was in tears through homesickness, he presumed she came from the other end of the country and when he asked her where her home town was, he was gobsmacked to find it was a mere 5 miles away!

I agree that we need to prepare them for the practical side of life but this article seems to say that they are not prepared for emotional challenges or any form of failure which they seem to be exaggerating anyway.

Yes I agree, I gave my son a crash course in cooking before he started uni, he graduated 3 years ago and now really enjoys cooking and has extended his repertoire way beyond spag bol, chilli and a basic cheese sauce. In his final year he shared a mixed house with 6 others, one boy had no concept of clearing up after himself after cooking, another couldn't boil water. The kitchen could be a battle ground at times, those who washed up, albeit infrequently, against those who wouldn't and kept most of the dirty dishes and cutlery in their bedrooms

Another thing that struck me as how little recycling some at uni do, in spite of mouthing off in their support for green issues, there seemed to be precious little sorting going on into recycling bins as far as I could see, bottles, cans, takeaway cartons just left outside for the bin collection. We were only there at the end of term pick ups, but I felt sorry for the next door neighbours. My own son had half the Amazon jungle in pizza boxes stowed under his bed so I can't claim to cover myself in glory.

Another thing many of them fail to get to grips with is managing a budget, I've lost count of the times I've heard about various people's kids getting their loan living allowance through and then blowing it in the first few weeks of term.