How will parenting in the 2020s be different?
1. Better self-care habits. For parents, this could mean enjoying - and teaching their kids to enjoy - life’s simple pleasures: taking a walk, having a proper bath or allowing yourself to crave for certain things without having to feel guilty.
2. All things gender-neutral - from gender-neutral Barbie dolls and modern names to raising a gender-neutral baby.
3. The move away from Instamum culture. A social media cleanse can give mums a breather so that they don't experience the fear-of-missing-out syndrome while scrolling up and down Instagram photos of other mums having perfect get away holidays with their kids.
4. Normalising anxiety. Nowadays parents and their kids are encouraged to speak openly about their mental health, and seek help.
5. Hands-on approach to creativity and education. DIY culture is thriving and even schools are incorporating technologies in their curricula such as 3D printing, electronic prototypes and laser cutting.
6. Embracing post-partum bodies. In 2020, it is all about instilling positivity, uplifting each other and seeing the beautiful even in imperfections.
7. Environmental consciousness which translates into mindfulness in living. When parents adopt this at home, their kids learn how to be aware as well.
8. Less screen time, more audiobooks. Audiobooks are said to also help in developing crucial listening and concentration, which are important skills to have.
9. Health at the forefront. Parents these days are more conscious about what they feed their child, even searching for ways to improve health and brain development.
10. Balance between developing a close relationship with kids and being prepared to let them out of the family nest in due time.
11. Balance between coddling kids and neglecting them. This means knowing when to let go and let kids experience the consequences of their actions and when to step in and help their child.
12. Cultivating motivation in kids is important for their future well-being as adults. If kids don’t begin to explore a sense of purpose based upon their natural talents and interests, they tend to gravitate to activities that simply take up their time without helping them grow as human beings.
13. Finding their own way to parent - to create family environments that align with their unique passions, values, and beliefs – even if this means doing things differently from the way their parents did things or even the way their friends are parenting.
Overall, modern parents are great at using information to inform their parenting and understand that being a parent doesn’t mean that you need to give up your personal identity.
Sources: South China Morning Post, 30 December 2019. Read the full article.
Modern Parenting Solutions. Read the full article.