While browsing my social media feed, I stumbled upon a viral post shared by numerous friends. It featured an older gentleman in a suit, grinning smugly beneath the title, “Expert Declares: ‘You’re Parenting All Wrong.’”
This narrative is all too familiar. It often comes from a diverse range of voices—whether a doctor, a psychologist, or a seasoned baby boomer parent—but the underlying theme remains consistent: millennial parents are failing at their roles. As a millennial parent myself, I can’t help but feel exasperated by the constant barrage of negativity. If I encounter one more meme or headline suggesting I’m doing everything incorrectly, I might just explode.
There are certainly clear-cut ways to mess up parenting. Leaving your kid unattended while you enjoy happy hour or mistakenly putting a diaper on their head are obvious blunders. However, the criticisms directed at millennial parents typically revolve around our parenting styles—how we communicate with our children, our discipline methods, what we feed them, and so on. We’re accused of being overly indulgent or too harsh, of setting impossible standards or providing too little attention. It seems there’s no right way to parent that won’t land us in some box of disapproval.
Millennial parents face numerous challenges—affordable housing, family leave policies, student debt, and the elusive commodity of sleep. Yet, we are inundated with information. Baby boomers often scoff at our fixation on smartphones, but more often than not, those “scrolling” moments are spent digesting the latest parenting research, berating ourselves for not following every guideline.
We have access to countless parenting books and daily updates on product recalls. We don’t even need to step outside to face judgment; online parenting forums provide ample opportunities for that. While having a wealth of information can aid in making informed choices, the pressure to make the “right” decisions can be overwhelming.
Honestly, I’d rather spend my limited free time listening to my child’s incessant complaints than sifting through a list of how millennial parents are supposedly ruining their kids. That said, I do value the perspectives of those from previous generations. It’s clear that parents with grown children possess insights on what truly matters and what doesn’t. I’m open to learning from their experiences—acknowledging that we may indeed be making some errors that will cause us to cringe in the future, much like how we react to outdated baby gear from decades past.
So, if you think we’re messing it all up, please allow us the space to figure it out on our own. Many of us are just as confused as you might expect, but we love our children fiercely and strive to offer them the best lives possible. A bit of faith or a simple act of turning a blind eye would go a long way in supporting us.
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In summary, let’s ease up on millennial parents. We face unique challenges and are simply trying our best while navigating a wealth of advice and information.