My theory - GenX vs Millennial parents

[Anonymous]

You over estimate your influence vs peer influence. They will all be fine.

[Anonymous]

I know a similar mix of parents because of my children's age gaps (older child's friends' parents skew Gen X, younger child's friends' parents skew Millennial) and have also found that the Gen X parents are a little more laid back while the Gen M parents are more uptight and stressed about getting their kids into AAP and the right classes/popular crowd. That said, it might just be who I know based on my kids' personalities (older child is more laid back, quiet, and that's who her friends are and therefore who their parents are, while my younger child is outgoing and gregarious and has the same type of friends, therefore their parents are more likely to be outgoing/outspoken). Think about that a little, OP. It's probably just personality based and not generation based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latchkey generation is handsoff with child rearing? Ya don't say....

Xers need to let this latchkey kid thing go. Do you think millennials suddenly had parents at home after school for some reason? No, ours were working too. We all ate bagel bites and watched trl unsupervised. Xers aren't special.

You must be an older millennial. Most of my generation was in camp/aftercare/babysitters. My parents didn't leave me home alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latchkey generation is handsoff with child rearing? Ya don't say....

Xers need to let this latchkey kid thing go. Do you think millennials suddenly had parents at home after school for some reason? No, ours were working too. We all ate bagel bites and watched trl unsupervised. Xers aren't special.

Nah. You guys were the recent after school care was invented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids won't be hot mess. They will be fine. I was a helicopter parent with my 2nd one because of the pressure and expectations of his father. But also, but that time we had more money and I had more time to be with the child and not work. The father isn't millennial, but older X than I am. Many reasons to be more helicopter than before.

Oh they will be a hot mess. We are just starting to hire kids born in/after 2000 and after at work and they are all anxious, need constant praise, and are hypersensitive to criticism. Their work is good to great but managing their feelings takes a lot of time and effort. Sometimes stereotypes exist for a reason.

But those kids were raised by Gen Xers so OP’s assumptions that Gen X are more laid back are wrong. I’m also a HS teacher and Gen X parents are intense.

[Anonymous]

OP your samples are taken strictly from the DMV, that's not representative of those generations of parents across nation, just the DMV. And it all sounds completely predictable (and boring).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m Gen X and have no idea what you’re talking about because I don’t hang around random school moms, just my close circle of friends.

I also dgaf how people parent their kids but I will side eye the gossip mom that asks too many personal questions about everyone’s kids and compares them against each other.

The one difference I have noticed is that millennial dads are way more involved with their kids at home and I find that to be a really great change.

Millennials Dads are deadbeats. I love the fact they make their wife work a 40 hour a week full time job in addition to doing 80 percent of house work. Then want a medal for doing 20 percent of housework.

As opposed to their boomer dad whose wife was a SAHM who did 90 percent of housework


I find this to be accurate. ☝🏻

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are wrong.

It depends in the individual’s racial and cultural background as well.

I’m a millennial parent and I don’t see this at all but I’m also a first generation immigrant in an area with other minorities. We’re not like this.

I agree and disagree re ‘we’re not like this.’ I have family in Germany and Spain. The kids live with parents until they’re in their mid 20s, at least. While the German parenting in my family is more hands-off, the Spanish parents are very helicopter-y. My SIL is in her mid-20s and still has her parents heavily involved. I’m seeing this approach with my son, too. And I see helicoptering with other immigrant parents we’re friends with.

I’m not saying intensive parenting is bad. The kids aren’t necessarily worse or better off in the end. But re family background, I also wouldn’t paint with a wide brush here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latchkey generation is handsoff with child rearing? Ya don't say....

Xers need to let this latchkey kid thing go. Do you think millennials suddenly had parents at home after school for some reason? No, ours were working too. We all ate bagel bites and watched trl unsupervised. Xers aren't special.

I went to school with my house key around my neck on a piece of yarn, and let myself and my little brother and each afternoon. This is an elementary school and there was no aftercare it wasn't invented. I'm 52.

I have adult children, and I also have a third grader and I think that where I'm a little out of the loop is, I just don't get into this online class stuff, like online school platforms. Just not into it. I do what I have to of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Xer here. There's a class Facebook page?

Huh.

Nailed it. (Xer parent)

[Anonymous]

NP here. On a related note, I was 26 with my first kid. 33 with my last kid.


Sometimes I’m a young mom (when attending middle school events). Sometimes I’m seeing really young parents (with my kindergartener).

The range of my peer parents is potentially 24 to 56 years old. I am 38 now.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I think some moms are just over anxious nuts, regardless of age or generation. I'm young gen X, and I can't believe that in 6th grade, the moms still organize a MS Facebook page, plus separate WhatsApp chats for: (i) sixth grade; plus (ii) every class. Dh and I join because otherwise you have no idea what's going on, so it means I'm now on 7 different WhatsApp chats for my 11 year old. And the stuff these women post is unbelievable. "For Mrs. Williams' class, the supply list says that several items are for keeping at home. Do we need to bring those on the first day???"

These people obvious don't have jobs because, one, they wouldn't have time or energy to care about this crap if they had a job; and two, no one that low functioning could hold a job for more than a week.

[Anonymous]

It is more older vs younger parents. IME, older parents are generally more laid back.

[Anonymous]

Millennial here. We all sort of think Gen X was the worst generation. So, maybe we just don’t want to be anything like you?

[Anonymous]

You see intense parenting in each generation. It’s weird to me but whatevs… not my kid, don’t care.