Letter: High school graduates unprepared for the world

With high school graduation looming closer, I’ve recently become aware of the high percentage of high school graduates who are unprepared. This lack of preparation is not in regards to academics, but rather to their excursion into the world.

To put it simply, kids today aren’t prepared to be out on their own. An article I recently read discussed how coddling kids, especially in high school, is detrimental to their development of personal reliance. Ten years ago, kids would have to pay for their own vehicle if they wanted to drive. Nowadays, teens turn 16 and go straight to the car lots with their parents, no blood, sweat or tears spent. What is this teaching them?

And this is not a simple problem for a few, we are raising a generation of dependents. How many 20-year-olds today still live with mom and dad? Too many. Parents, you are conditioning your child to believe that they will always be cared for, which leads to the sad but realistic expectation that mom and dad will always provide.

It’s time we cut the apron strings, and let young adults assume responsibility for their own lives.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Letter: High school graduates unprepared for the world."