If you’re an avid Bored Panda reader, you likely know of our monthly collection of parenting tweets. Child-rearing is no picnic, and these pieces are our way of tipping our hats to those who have willingly taken on these responsibilities.
So, here’s the May edition. As always, you’re about to read social media posts from moms and dads who gladly shared their parenting misadventures for everyone on the internet to enjoy.
If you’re going through similar predicaments, these will hit home. Be sure to upvote those that resonate the most with you!
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Most of the posts on this list came from younger parents who are Gen X, millennial, or older Gen Z. And each generation has a distinct parenting style shaped by the environment they grew up in.
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Let’s start with Gen X. Some significant events that shaped their lives include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of personal computers, and the emergence of MTV as a cultural beacon.
And according to licensed psychologist Dr. Holly Schiff, Gen Xers are likely to subscribe to helicopter parenting.
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As Dr. Schiff tells Parents.com, Gen X would likely want to be more involved in their kids’ lives, considering they got the exact opposite from their Baby Boomer parents. However, she also noted that they are likely to move away from authoritarianism and instead lean towards the best methods.
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“They like to get and give advice about parenting and always learn about how to be a better parent,” Dr. Schiff explained. “Generation X parents like to volunteer and be very involved in their children’s development, including being very involved in their child’s school.”
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Next on the list are millennials, who experienced the rise of social media, rising living and childcare costs, the Great Recession, and the invention of smartphones.
According to Dr. Schiff, millennial parents are more open-minded and do not ascribe to specific parenting styles. They also place greater value on positive reinforcement and tend to rely on social media.
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“Millennial parents also rely much more on technology, both in learning about how to parent, but also letting their kids play games or watch videos on a tablet or smartphone,” Dr. Schiff said.
However, she also noted that millennial parents encourage their children to ask questions about emotional intelligence, self-improvement, and the world around them. In turn, their children grow up being more self-aware.
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Finally, we have Gen Z, who have never known life without smartphones and digital technology. The pandemic had a huge impact on their upbringing, and they grew up in a world where they could make a living from being an “influencer.”
With social media as a primary influence, Dr. Schiff says Gen Z parents put pressure on themselves to live the same “perfect” lives that they see online.
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And because Gen Z values expressing themselves, Dr. Schiff says their children may also grow up with a much better state of well-being.
“Psychologically, children of Gen Z may be healthier because (their) parents tend to prioritize their child’s mental health and well-being.”
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