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Parenting
(adj.)
Raised in environments engineered to remove the natural adversity and opportunities for failure that lead to resilience and growth.
College RAs can spot the sandboxed kids within weeks: the first disputed grade or roommate conflict triggers a call home.
Does it ring true?
From the future, or already here?
From software development: a sandbox is the test environment where you can’t break things. Ironic, given the original sandbox was where many kids got their first scraped knee. An overly protected childhood raises questions about how the next generation will respond when the costs of failure become real and life requires a resilience they may be ill-prepared to practice.
Future Words: A Non-Obvious Glossary of Terms That Don’t Exist (But Soon Will) collects all 100, each with its example sentence and coinage notes, from the bestselling authors of The Future Normal. Hardcover, October 20, 2026.