Of course, Millennials didn’t originate the trend toward positive self-views and high expectations—Boomers and Gen X’ers did. Millennials ratcheted it up a notch, but it wasn’t their idea in the first place to get participation trophies. So should we instead “blame” Boomers or Gen X’ers? Probably not; deciding whom to blame is rarely productive, especially as cultural changes are bigger than just one generation and bigger than individual people. Also, parents and coaches were not intentionally trying to overinflate kids’ egos; the culture of the time convinced them that giving more praise,
...more
