America: A nation of Wimps?

Wimps, wuss, weenie---those are just some of the terms I have heard to describe men and boys through the years who are not "manly" or whatever that means.
But lets look at this subject and you decide for yourself how true it is. Hara Marano wrote in "Psychology Today" that America is turning into a "nation of wimps." The author went on to say it is maybe the cyclist complete with blue helmet riding along a designated dirt path---not too fast---on his tricycle. Or maybe it is the all cushioned surface where kids used to skin their knees and now they are not allowed to play alone. The author wrote, "Their mommies and daddies are playing with them, making sure that the little darlings don't experience even the slightest scrape, scratch, or scare." There is no such thing as allowing kids to figure some things out for themselves. Marano describes this as an attempt for parents to sanitize their children's childhood. Which is described as, "Our kids are growing up to be pampered wimps who are incapable of assuming adult responsibility and have no idea how to handle the routine challenges of life.
David Elkind, a child psychologist, says that "kids need to feel badly sometimes...We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. Through failure we learn how to cope."
Steven Hyman, Harvard University's provost and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health described the problem of pampering is so great it is affecting the education of students even in college. He took note that Harvard once graduated 94% of the class of 2001 with honors. How do you say grade inflation? Caused from pressure from parents (donors).
One writer says parents turn to doctors and teachers to make their children into the people that parents want to believe their kids are. Interesting.
I even read where some blame this on cell phones and even things like "twitter". The reason is all kids are in contact with every little thing with their parents. They cannot stub their toe or experience a breakup or make a C without parents rushing to their defence.
I find this interesting and have a tendency to agree. I have dealt with far too many parents who seem to invent reasons why their child cannot make perfect grades or start on Friday night. Instead of learning through the experience, we want them to find fault in whoever made the decision that caused their heartache.
I think it might go further than that. We as christian parents need to pay attention and not seek the world's standards. Al Mohler wrote that, '"We must push our children toward excellence, but we must define excellence consistent with the Christian gospel."
Maybe we need to thankful for the lessons learn from skinned knees, other disappointments and the blessing of hard work.
Maybe, just maybe, this could be one reason for so many churches springing up and preaching a gospel centered around what somebody might want instead of what they need.
Jim