Gen Xers Research Paper

Generation X grew up as the latchkey children of Boomers. Xers parents were more focused on their jobs than spending quality family time with their children. When they did is was more to get them Harvard-bound than anything. So now Gen Xers are the parents and they are taking a much different route than their parents. Gen X parenting involves more quality time, more technology, and more family stability than Boomer parenting. Gen Xers were the children of the divorce era of the 70s. During this the divorce rate doubled and children living with married parents fell 12 percent. This caused many Gen Xers to experience a broken home which “pushed them to value family stability when it comes to their own children” (Paul 44). Many Gen X women worry about the possibility of becoming a single parent. This fear has caused …show more content…
Quality time with their children is a high priority for the Gen X parent. Hulbert found that 50 percent more Gen X mothers spent more than 12 hours a day and approximately 11 percent more of Gen X fathers dedicated more than 3 hours a day on domesticity when compared to their Boomer counterparts (11). In addition, according to "Most Parents Are Gen Xers” almost half of Gen Xers feel they should spend more time with their children (5). In contrast to Boomers, Gen X places more importance on family time as opposed to money and status. For instance, in a recent survey by Simon-Kucher & Partners 51 percent of Gen Xers chose their children as their favorite person to shop for in the holiday season compared to Boomers 40 percent. The general manager of First Fun stated that Gen X parents “want smart children, but they think it’s more important for them to be emotionally and socially ready” for school (qtd. in Hulbert 12). A revival of some traditional values that Boomers abandoned demonstrations that Gen Xers want to restore to a more traditional family