Why not let youngsters devise their own ways to be less stressful?

It is difficult for most adults to have much pity for American teenagers who contend they are so “stressed and depressed” they need to spend $100 or so on visits to spas for such indulgences as massages and eyebrow waxing.

But this trend, for those who somehow can afford it, is becoming fairly common in some parts of the country. It smacks of the outlandish and exorbitant expenditures by young people for high school prom activities – clothes, limousines, overnight parties and such.

Do children really need such over-the-top goodies? Are they so inadequate we have to enable them to be spoiled?

One spa owner in the East said a parent brought a 5-year-old child in for a massage. Several youngsters admitted they had spent $100 or more on massages, mud packs and the like. Others have taken expensive lessons in yoga and breathing.

We’re told that modern teenagers are exposed to more and more reasons to be sad, morose and depressed and that they desperately need relaxation outlets, even ones as costly as these. To be sure, the 9-11 tragedies, the recent sniper sieges, the killings at schools and other public places and the growing complications of life in these United States have serious down sides. But the world is not about to end.

The fact is, the recent observances of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and the resulting American involvement in World War II reminded many that teens of some 60 years ago had just as much “stress” and fear foisted upon them. There were no spas to speak of and certainly not enough money for some of today’s obscene expenditures. Somehow the young people got through.

It’s the same for many youngsters in the decades after that.

Yet today, when there is a tragedy involving a teen there is a rush to get counselors on the given scene, sometimes, it seems, to convince children they have a problem they might not know about.

Do we, through our public officials and our media work too hard to encourage young people to feel sorry for themselves? Do we give them enough of a chance to solve things for themselves? Are we making them aware enough that they have a lot of basic tools to solve problems without counselors, public sensitivity sessions, incredible prom expenditures – and spas and massages?

Maybe we’re shortchanging our youngsters by trying to get them to feel inadequate. Truth is, most of them are far more resilient, intelligent and resourceful than we might believe.