Evolution Of Parenting Styles In The Baby Boomer Generation

Through the ages, society has evolved. Technology advances, jobs evolve even parenting styles adapt and evolve over the years. Change is hard to see in small measures, however, over time one can see big differences. In the Depression era, parenting styles were more authoritative. In the Baby Boomer generation, parents had more of a distant relationship with their children. Generation X was a different story; these kids had to grow up fast and fend for themselves. As the Millennial generation evolved, their parents, the Gen X’ers, wanted to give their children everything, which created a hyper-parenting style. This in turn created the hovering style that the Millennial parents practiced. The social and emotional factors that a generation’s parenting …show more content…
This new generation was called Generation X and was referred to as the neglected, middle child (Taylor). The Xers grew up in latchkey environments and had to entertain themselves frequently. Their parents, the Baby Boomers, worked very hard making a living for their families. The Boomers wanted their kids to explore the outdoors for hours on end. Xers roamed their neighborhoods, crossed busy streets without any adult supervision and didn’t come home until dusk. Working so hard to make a living, these parents had a more distant relationship with their kids. These kids grew up earlier than the past generations as they had to walk home from school, babysit at younger ages and even make their own frozen dinners, thus the Gen Xers matured earlier (Enjeti). Every milestone for Generation X was an obstacle they had to overcome, whether it be the Wall Street crash, the Recession, or the burst of the housing bubble, these young adults overcame it (Thomas). All they wanted for their kids was a pain free life with no …show more content…
Even though these two parents were completely different in how they were raised; they still seemed to have the same impact on their children. The late Boomer parents wanted to do what was right and focus on their children because they knew the early Boomer parents were very work driven. Gen Xer parents were trying to do what no one did for them while they raised their own kids. The Millennial generation grew up with “Helicopter Parents”. Helicopter parents were parents who did everything for their child. As a result of this parenting style, they were not self-directed or independent (Liotta). These children needed a lot of praise.
Growing up always being able to ask Google a question and being tech-savvy, Millennials had weak social skills (LaVoie). With the lack of social skills, came the timidness of this generation. Their parents had to make sure they would succeed in school and work. Lavoie writes about how the Millennials only want to learn about things that are relevant to their lives, this also led to the disinterest in politics and other economic news. Even though this generation had helicopter parenting, a plethora of technology and praised for everything, the Millennials were the most optimistic