Parenting, whats your thought?

Question

Do you think its harder now days to be a parent? I do. ( my age 62)

Answer 1

Yes, harder to be a parent now. A lot of that is because the pressure for many people to make their child the perfect child (not a goal of ours) who is in a zillion activities.

When I was a kid we played around the neighbourhood for hours without are parents knowing where we were. We all did that and we were safe.

Now, I have to monitor my children on the internet in our home and wouldn't dream of letting them run all around the neighbourhood.

I think it many ways it is easier to parent today because of the resources available.

Answer 2

Parents in general can simply no longer apply dogmatism and should not have done so in the first place. That is to say to expect of others to follow in their footsteps without question.

It is probably the parent's arrogance, which parents attribute as pride mistakenly, that they know better because they have been on this earth longer. If that were the case, elders of the parents and the deceased should have first claim of ideas and authority through ideas over that of the parents.

Any healthy child should be allowed to question the world they are brought into instead of receiving a brusque answer and a smack on their bottom.

Being older also means being alive and not succumbing to common social myth. This applies to present parents and grand parents.

That means go out there and keep your ear to the ground as certain trends and fashions change. There are people out there just waiting their years out instead of taking what it can offer today. Sure, you may not have as much energy as in your youth but you are still you. Abstractly put, just as you value you, so should you value your children that are you.

That way, you remain current. Hence the word current affairs used in formal paper and media news. Except this current, is to be current in the immediate family and not be out of touch with your family trends and their environment which enriches yours.

Understand the problems will remove this mist of misunderstanding and possibly likely to get frustrated. Understanding is not the same as doing. So you may have to dirty your hands with a game console like a play station. No more different to working life.

Physical punishment should be rarely used unless the neighbourhood is a rough area where everybody wants to be bad. Even then, frequent use only makes the child more rebellious although some will learn from their mistake or probably, accidental and unintentional social faux pas.

Where the child intentionally causes mischief, it is to entertain him or herself, often without realising the seriousness of it. So they get smacked for trying to entertain themselves. The parents should have asked their grand parents or close relatives to look after the child if they have no time.

How many parents can really afford children? Even though if money is not such a serious issue but time is. Can you pay your boss time without risk of being sacked ? I doubt it.

Answer 3

I would say not to be a parent until you have done of all your parting, and sexual partners, I would say 35 yrs old is a great age to settle down and start a family, at least by then you are mature enough to have a life of your own, and these days even one child is more then enough for this economic, the price to having a child is rediculuos any more, I am only 32yrs old and I went shopping in the baby section cause my cousin is having her first baby and she is 35 yrs old and I could not believe my eyes everything is more expensive then when I had my kids, plus there are more to pick from when I had my kids, I was like why didnèt they have this when my kids were born? But parenting is no fun, children do not come with a script and how to deal with problems, a single mom of 3 here and its no picnic, the older they get the worse there attitude gets with it in time, I look at my kids at night and say awww look at those beautiful angels then when there up its like omg pls be a baby again there the best times. But I would do it all over again, but with diffrent father though.

Answer 4

No- I think it's easier. I don't have to worry about polio, rubella, measles, etc. There is no lead paint being put on houses, kids sit in car seats- we have people looking out for our kids' safety. People nowadays have so much more- bigger houses, more stuff, more ability to afford stuff. Food is cheaper than it used to be as a percentage of income. There are more resources in case we run into trouble or if my husband loses his job there is more financial help available from the government (not that I want to use it but it is there for those who need it.) I don't think child abuse is any more common but it is more publicized, which is actually a good thing for us parents to know about it. I love my dishwasher, microwave, and electric dryer, which most people didn't have when you were growing up or raising kids.

If we parents still maintain the authority in our home and minimize our kids' exposure to bad influences like most TV shows, bad music, bad schools, etc, we can do well as parents.
If we mothers stay home like most moms did back in the day, then we can help our kids a lot. Most moms don't really have to work but do so to afford luxuries like a second car, a bigger house (back in 1950 the average house built was 1100 square feet; today it's 2300), cable TV, internet, fancy vacations, etc. It's easier to afford things today if you're happy with the things people had back then.

The only thing I think is harder is the amorality that is out there. We just have to be extra diligent about teaching our kids what is appropriate and what is not.

Progress is a wonderful thing- we just have to be willing to take the new good things (like technological innovations, medical care, etc) and not give into the bad things like immorality and rising expectations about what our kids want and what we want.

Answer 5

I'm only 22 and had my son 7 months ago and from what I have seen from other parents now we have our own set of difficulties, but all in all there are still the same issues. Drugs are still there, under age sex is still there, teen pregnancy is more common now as is gang activity. I'd say the challenges change and some new ones are added, but I think parenting is parenting and it's a full time tough job no matter what generation you are from.

Answer 6

Yes...so many of the general adolescent issues are the same, but many issues I just have no frame of reference for (i.e. cyber-bullying).

And my mom (age 75), who said the same thing when I was a teen, says she's so grateful she's a parent in today's world!

And what's even harder is that values from parent to parent vary so greatly. When I was a teen, all parents pretty much stood for the same values.

Answer 7

Most definitely...and I'm only 32. My son is a few months shy of being a teenager and while he gives me grief sometimes, its not often. My daughter on the other hand--she is 9--gives me heartburn on a daily basis. Society today says its not good to spank or really "punish" kids like I got when I was growing up. I remember a few times getting my leg smacked with a switch I had to pick myself. And you can bet I learned my lesson. Now all they want you to do is talk to them and take away priveleges. What about those truly hard headed stubborn kids out there??? Its ridiculous and while its not considered "PC" to spank, I use it as a last resort. But with my daughter it isn't working so I'm looking for other methods of discipline.

Answer 8

I think I have it way easier than my parents and grandparents financially. But now there's more media influences, violence, etc. that worries me. I think parents probably worried back in the day about other things, it was just something different. Also I bet every parent has had someone older breathing down their neck saying how "back in my day we did this...."

Answer 9

well im not a parent but i would like to be. but whoever said parenting was easy? its hard its got alot of responsibility, making sure your child is fed,bathed,educated,healthy, well behaved, and not into smoking or drinking. and today is the age of new technology like video cellphones, new game systems like xbox,playstation 3 etc, and a child could be easily spoiled over these things.

Answer 10

I never was a parent in any other time.... I always thought us parents of today were just complaining. Nice to know someone out there thinks it is too.....