Millennials are parents now...we know – time really flies!
It seems like only yesterday parents were fastening their Millennial children into car seats and putting those bright yellow “baby on board” signs on the back of their minivans as the world began to perceive children and their role in society in an entirely new way.
So what happens when the OG “baby on board” generation becomes parents themselves?
And how are they parenting through these constantly chaotic, verging-on dystopian times?
With more than a million Millennials becoming parents each year, this growing parental cohort is digitally savvy, ethnically diverse, and less bound by traditional roles than any generation before it. However, the helicopter parenting of Millennial childhoods has been replaced with new sources of anxiety thanks to the social and economic turmoil, non-stop childcare, mental health crises, and raising kids in the era of competitive social media - it’s no wonder moms have literally been left screaming in rage.
However, even though it feels like a new parenting style is announced every other day, there is no hard and fast rule book that fully encapsulates how to manage parenting today. Millennials are balancing the highs and lows of parenting as best they can while also balancing being a parent with other aspects of their identity and saving a little time and energy for themselves.
Engendered with a strong sense of fairness, Millennial parents attempt to run their families as mini-democracies, seeking input and agreement from spouses, kids, and extended circles, preferring a more responsive, less directorial approach to purchases and activities.
As the generation who brought social media into being (we’ll never forget you, MySpace), they’re charting a course through parenthood that’s opened up to more public scrutiny but also more validation to be found. So, in this month's report, Cassandra ditches the mom guilt and explores all the ways modern Millennial parents navigate the pendulum of parenthood.
Be it twinning with their mini-me’s, having ChatGPT write a personalized bedtime story, or searching for packed lunch inspo, read on as we sittervise and take a minute to ourselves to discover how these parents’ updated styles, beliefs, habits, and motivations help shape their children's lives.
Check out our Parents on Board infographic below!