Got a great response to my last blog post defending millennials (who should need no defense). Colorado-based writer Teresa Funke, author of the Home Front Heroes series of kids’ books about World War II—which would make a great holiday present for any book-loving kid you know (hint, hint)—wrote a particularly stirring reply and gave me permission to share it with you:

Right on! Although, I was a college student in the 80s, as you were, but I had an unpaid internship. So did my husband. Kids today take a lot of flak for not getting jobs in high school, etc, but their homework loads are much heavier than we had, and there’s a push to take more advanced classes in high school in order to get into college (and advanced classes are harder classes). And high school activities are now huge commitments. When I was a kid, soccer was a two-month sport. Now, it’s year-round. Not to mention that kids are supposed to do more volunteering in the community because that looks good in their college interviews, etc. AND the fact that it’s harder for high school kids to find jobs these days. My son looked for almost a year before he found one. I used to sit around in the evening and watch TV with my parents. My kids rarely watch TV because of homework and activities. This is NOT a lazy or pampered generation. I’m amazed by how ambitious and dedicated my kids are. And college debt is crazy. My husband and I both graduated debt-free, and I had to pay my own way through. That’s how much more affordable college was then. Course, that was Boise State. 🙂 Thank you for standing up for the kids!