This sort of childhood is different from the childhoods Americans have traditionally had. It's not an independent childhood, like Huck Finn's or the Bowery Boys'. Today's middle-class kids, by and large, don't live apart from adult society...Excellent observation. And many good points about the primacy of self-improvement.
Aside: Ironically, or perhaps not, the notion of having adult expectations of children, while extending youthful pursuits well into middle-age is an underlying theme to my third novel, Misspent Youth. (Don't hold your breath.)
