Parent alert -- this is a funny, eye-opening report from the front lines of the revolution in modern childhood. Remember when children grew up in well-defined stages? Adults tried to keep whole areas of life hidden from them -- death, bad language, and, of course, sex -- and allowed them to step out into the adult world in an orderly, gradual fashion, according to a schedule determined by grown-ups. So it's no surprise many parents and experts believe that kids today are growing up too quickly, that a toxic combination of TV and films, video games and the Internet are robbing them of childhood. In this straight-talking, mind-bending new book, Kathleen McDonnell warns us that we can't go back to that time when grown-ups and kids knew their place. This book is nothing like anything written before for parents and educators. A must for anyone involved with kids in the 21st century.