Its a change; unprecedented in the history of mankind. So don't accept it blindly. Nothing about the makeup of humans prepared them for a childhood of over-supervised planned activities and a near-total lack of open-ended peer interaction.

Its a bigger risk to just blindly forge ahead with kids addicted to chat, sugar and the internet.

Well, this is precedented in a small way - royalty. Throughout history, children of those in significant power have grown up under a microscope. Celebrity kids have a similar experience.

There are a host of other issues to contend with, my the amplification of narcissistic tendencies and lack of empathy is well documented in these cases. I can't help but wonder if the privileged children are being subjected to very similar, if diminished experience.

It should also be noted that this is not as much of a problem in poorer neighborhoods, as I see kids playing on the streets and driveways when I occasionally drive through.

The Greek Spartan child rearing model, at least for boys? Historical documents would have mentioned if Spartan men turned out completely screwed up compared to Spartan women... probably. The ancients certainly enjoyed playing the compare and contrast game with the Athenians and it never seemed to come up in the numerous differences.

Also the model probably breaks down into its not terribly clear how oversupervised Spartan boys were. Its still probably a historical model worth considering.

I wonder if the militaristic upbringing served to remove the narcissism. An army requires a lot of cohesion and sacrifice. How well they were socially adapted, probably mattered less in a militaristic society.

Spartan boys were almost completely unsupervised for many hours a day. They were expected to roam in packs and steal food - they were not fed. Caught stealing was the death penalty. Thus they knitted iron-clad group loyalty with their peers.

So not play exactly, but lots of peer interaction and social dynamics at work.