Genre	Factual | Current Affairs
Format	HD
Author	Sandra Ratzow
Director	Sandra Ratzow
Production	NDR
Duration	30'
Year of production	2016

The Land of the Free has now become the Land of the Scared - especially in its fear for its children. Middle-class American kids spend little time without the control of their parents. To play on the other side of the street? Impossible. Neighbours could call the police. Alone at public swimming baths? No way. In breach of supervisory obligations. Sho-ping alone? Never ever. Parents see disaster wherever they look - accidents, abduction, or even murder. This all leads to middle-class kids following an agenda with instructed activities, to which they are driven by car, or they just sit around indoors in front of the TV or computer. They meet friends only when parents are present - at organised play dates. And when the parents can't be there with them, they are inclined to implement technical monitoring. There are webcams in Kindergartens, so that contact between pre-school teachers and the parents' little darlings can be monitored. Apps, that enable parents to read the text messages their children send one another, or to check their telephone numbers. From babies - with high tech dummies - to students; life for many young Americans is almost totally supervised by their parents.