Welcome to Kids Today! I'm Anna North, a senior Vox correspondent covering policy and culture. Today, we're launching the Vox newsletter, which will bring stories about Gen Alpha (people born between 2010 and 2024) and American childhood to readers' inboxes every week. This is a kids newsletter for everyone. If you'd like to receive it, sign up here.
Although I am a parent of two young children, I am not here to talk about parenting (for that I would recommend Sarah Petersen or Angela Gervais), but in this newsletter I want to focus on the actual experience of being a kid in America right now.
Childhood in 2024 is an incredibly challenging topic. We're all trying to make sense of the aftermath of a pandemic, the effects of social media, and the impacts of climate change and war on the world our children will grow up in. Children also play a big role in the upcoming presidential election, with Senator J.D. Vance and others arguing that having children is a patriotic duty and not having children is “crazy.”
One of the goals of this newsletter is to dive deep into some of the most heated debates surrounding childhood today and provide a clear, non-panic look at what's really going on. I'm as worried about today's kids as anyone (not this newsletter, but a demographic, although I'm sure I would be too), but I also know that every generation fears for their own generation of kids, and I want to approach today's scary headlines with a bit of skepticism.
I also want to offer a portrait of Generation Alpha and highlight what is unique about this group of young Americans, as well as what they have in common with Gen Z, Millennials, and beyond. While we live in an intense and fast-paced time of generational conflict, some of which is pretty entertaining and funny, I also want to explore where these generalizations fall short.
I admit that I am an imperfect guide to the world of children. As an adult, I am inherently uncool. I will never be able to understand children's culture as well as they do. My older child likes to call me “the guy who knows nothing.”
But as part of my reporting, I've been speaking to kids, from preschoolers to teenagers, for nearly a decade. I strive to see things from a child's perspective, with curiosity, openness and honesty. While I do speak to adult experts in this newsletter, whenever possible I try to bring you the voices of real kids.
Children are us before our filters are fully developed, when the world is still fresh and strange and confusing. Kids are unpredictable. (For example, my 6-year-old asked me if earthworms can do yoga. Can they?)
But kids are smart and thoughtful. They have keen insights about the world today and the future they will lead. I'm excited to learn from them, and I hope you are too.
Next week, I'll be sharing a newsletter about what kids think about the concept of “Generation Alpha,” how they view their generation, and what they think about TikToks and news articles that criticize them. In the meantime, here's a little taste of what I've been reading and thinking as the summer draws to a close.
School supply lists are always an issue this time of year. School districts often don't have adequate budgets, leaving families and teachers with the responsibility of purchasing everything from pencils to graphing calculators. I'm also interested to know how kids think about back-to-school shopping and the extent to which the financial stress of this process spills over onto them. A new study suggests that children's relationship with nature is determined more by their socioeconomic status than by whether they live in a city or suburb. As more states move to place chaplains in public schools, some worry that these ministers will proselytize or provide counseling to students without proper mental health training. Brooklyn seems to be seeing a rise in children's dance parties where parents can bring their toddlers and enjoy house music. I knew this would be frustrating, but it's actually cute. Right now, my older child is obsessed with the animated bakery show Bread Barbershop, in which slices of bread become barbers. My youngest child doesn’t want to read “Spring Has Come,” by Taro Gomi, the comforting tale of the inevitable cycle of the seasons that’s kept me sane during the pandemic. He wants to read a book that makes a buzzing noise, but he can’t name it.
Finally, we'd love to hear your questions about kids and childhood, whether you're a parent, childless adult, or child. (Kids with questions about adults are also welcome to write in.) Is there a topic you'd like us to cover? Have an experience you'd like to share? Contact us at [email protected].
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