Parenting has come a long way since I was a young whipper snapper. By golly, it's come a long way since I first had kids!
I remember thinking the Diaper Genie was the best invention EVER at the time and Pack -n- Plays just made the old playpens that my parents once used laughable. I was on the cutting edge of parenting! Or so I thought...
On the other hand, I didn't have a cell phone to call anyone at any given minute. If my car got a flat in the middle of nowhere and I was alone with two toddlers in tow and a huge pregnant belly, I depended on the kindness of a stranger who saw my plight and stopped to help. If there was no kind stranger, I had to hope for a gas station with a pay phone not to far away.
Now you can get help at the drop of a hat - one is virtually never stranded. The internet (non-existent or relatively unknown when my kids were small) can get you any information you need with the click of a button. I don't have to call mom for that very special recipe she used to make. In fact, I can find a
better one that hundreds of people have tried and given feedback on!
On the other OTHER hand, getting kids to go outside and enjoy nature, or just for a little exercise, is almost like separating them from a conjoined twin (a.k.a. their electronic devices). It kind of seems like a catch 22. You can't win for losing! We have it better, but we really don't.
What do YOU think, Momaroos? Is it easier or harder to be a parent now than when your parents were raising our family?
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Comments (6)
Hmm; great question. I think it's probably a tie. Every generation has its challenges and benefits; they just vary from year to year. I, personally, would probably prefer to be a '50s mom, but that's just my preference.
It's easier now as far as convenience. But, children today are exposed to so much more violence, sex, language, etc than they were 50 years ago, and that part is much harder. So while gadgets may have made things easier, overall it is harder because of the world we live in now.
It was easier back then. Less exposure to violence, drugs, sex, language, online crap, and things like that. Plus, you could spank your kids without getting arrested.
Children today play ninety-something-percent less imaginary games than their parents' generation did. Imagination is important because it integrates a child's feelings and dreams and actions. Also according to a study done by Dr Beth Falk, imagination not only help a child deal with emotions more effectively, but it also helps a child handle problems, not to mention they boost children's creativity. Our children now see too much and learn things beyond theiryears while watching television. Television also imposes an artificial world of violence and unreachable good and evil, numbing the child's own imaginative adventures which is detrimental to creativity and academic success.
@RaxterRiley@xanga - I agree, its easier as far as convenience now. But other than that, its hard to compare.
Now. We have so any support systems that previous generations did not have. We have outlets to turn to when we don't know what to do with our children. The understanding of child development has improved etc.
Getting kids to prefer playing outside, use their imagination, and be creative is all in the parenting. Just because the technology is there does not mean they have to get attached to it all the time. My son has a leapster, a dvd player and TV in his room, but he spends more time outside when the weather is permitting or drawing and painting than he does using any of those things involving technology.
The same is true with all the kids in my neighborhood...as long as it isn't too hot they are either on the basketball court or at the pool.