Has Parenting Changed?
By Mae Frances Bing
With the advancement of technology that puts the entire world at our fingertips, parenting has gone through many changes. I’m not a parent, but based on the things that I have witnessed from those who are, I can say that things are very different. Here are a few changes that I broke down into segments.
Technology
- Kids and Screens: Just over half of the children in the United States - 53 percent - now own a smartphone by the age of 11. And 84 percent of teenagers now have their own phones. These numbers are continuing to rise with the use of popular platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and gaming. This change has parents concerned about device addiction, cyberbullying, and their child’s privacy.
- Parents and Screens: Let’s not blame everything on the kids. There are parents out there who are addicted to their devices, too, and some are way worse than their kids. Parents are now able to do everything on the go: check emails, order groceries, find entertainment and even find dates!
Discipline
Discipline isn’t, by definition, a bad thing. Studies have shown that the most effective way to foster and grow healthy relationships with children and give them the ability to learn and have self-control is through positive discipline. I think most parents are slipping away from disciplining in general and relating it to negative discipline. It’s seen as abuse to some new parents.
More Mental Health Awareness
Today’s kids are dealing with a lot of issues. They are more aware of the problems that surround them. Mental health experts have seen an increase in young people diagnosed with anxiety and other mental health disorders.
Has Parenting Changed?
By Michael DeWitt, Jr.
I’ve heard older people say that today’s youth “sure ain’t like we were when we were coming up.” True, but neither are their parents.
Children today are different, but not just because of technology and changing times, but because parents are different. Somewhere along the line, many of us stopped teaching our kids to respect their elders, how to say “sir” or “ma’am” and how to pull your pants up and put on a belt. Maybe we lost those “old fashioned values,” or maybe we just got lazy.
Let’s take a look at external factors that are shaping both parents and children.
Technology
I think that too many American children have developed addictions to our devices. I’ve seen my child use his tablet to watch Minecraft “How-To” videos while actually playing Minecraft on the XBox simultaneously!
But they get it from their parents. I can easily spend an hour at a time on Facebook, put my phone down and think, “I could be reading Faulkner or Hemingway or some other genius, and here I am reading the words of the 2,000 idiots on my friend list!” Then, sooner or later, I’ll pick up my phone again.
My wife will spend hours watching Netflix shows on her phone, and if the phone goes dead she will get a charger and an extension cord and keep right on “Netflixing and Chilling.” Man, I miss the days when wives were wireless and devices weren’t.
Parents and children alike need to enforce limits to their screen time (like no more than two hours daily), and balance it out with at least one hour of outside play time and exercise. You hear that, honey?
Discipline
I’ve got one word for you, but you young parents may need to look it up on your Urban Dictionary: spanking.
Yes, I know, many of you younger parents don’t believe in spanking, because “modern studies show” this or that. Well, my Granny conducted a modern study once, and here were the results:
Test Subject No. 1, a puppy named Rex, got into her chicken yard and tasted a chicken. Granny spent about an hour parenting that puppy, by which I mean she whipped that dog with a garden hose until her arm gave out.
Years later, when Rex was an old dog, I tried my best to get Rex to go back in that chicken pen. I called him, I bribed him, and I even tried dragging him, but he promptly bit me and ran away for three days to avoid any misunderstandings.
Test result: Spanking works, if done right.
Mental Health
I’m not sure why this generation of spoiled, video-game-playing kids has mental health issues, but I can relate. Once, I removed all games and electronic devices from my child’s room as punishment, and the poor thing laid down on the floor, twisted in full-body convulsions, wilted and melted like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz, and began screaming in agony.
It was a horrible sight, I’m going to need therapy myself after witnessing all that. Maybe I’ll post about it and seek help from the experts on Facebook.
Yes, life and technology has changed and will continue changing, but some things should not. Parents should strive to ensure that their family members live a balanced life, learn basic values that will make them productive members of modern society, show respect for self and others, and grow up to be decent human beings.
Even if we are no longer wireless.