Why Millennials Might Just Make the Best Parents
Millennials get a bad rap, and boy do you know it. You’re a millennial, and it seems like everyone from your grandmother to your Gen X big sis thinks your generation is totally tech-obsessed and narcissistic to the zillionth degree. Well… maybe you’ve been known to post more than a few selfies on IG. But that was before you grew up and became a parent. Shrugging off the self-obsessed stereotype, millennials are proving that they actually make pretty rad parents — here’s why!
1. Older Parents: Millennials may not be old. But they’re shaping up to be the oldest generation of parents. The average age that a woman has her first child is on the rise, according to the CDC. Between 2000 and 2014, the average age of a first-time mama rose by 1.4 years. That might not seem like a lot (it went from 24.9 to 26.3 years), but an increase in age gives parents an added chance to start a career, build some financial stability, and grow up — at least, a bit.
2. Wired in to Knowledge: Your own mother had a book, a PTA meeting once a month, and… that was pretty much it when it came to parenting guidance. Then there’s you. Sure, you spend hours on FB, IG, and all over the internet. That doesn’t make you tech-crazy. Or if it does, it also makes you completely on top of everything that is parenting. You’re all about reading parenting blogs, and you’ve joined a dozen or so parenting Facebook groups. Millennials are super-connected, and that creates a caring, supportive community that can only help you when it comes to being a mom.
3. Shifting Roles: Long gone are the Don Draper days when Dad took the train to work while mom stayed home and took on 100 percent of the parenting duties. Today’s dads are totally taking on childcare. And no, they aren’t “babysitters.” They’re co-parents, and they’re just as likely as modern moms to say that being a parent is an important part of their identity, according to the Pew Research Center. This means that contemporary kids with a mom and dad are being treated to two parents who are completely invested in them.
4. Flex Time: Your parent probably pulled nine-to-fives Monday through Friday. Sometimes they had to stay late, and occasionally they even had to go into work on the weekend for some sort of team-building activity or to catch up on a big project. This schedule meant they were at work for your school parties, plays, and anything else that happened during the “day.” Today’s workers are more likely to work from home or have flexible schedules than previous generations. With technological advances came the ability to video-conference in to the morning meeting and still get to your kiddo’s pre-lunch story reading session at school.
5. New Experiences: You spent summers backpacking around the globe and are all about renting an RV and traveling around with your family. Millennials value experiences. This doesn’t mean they don’t want to “settle down.” They do: You know that you want a family and are totally overjoyed to make a home with your S.O. and the kids. But that doesn’t mean you’re giving up exploring and experiencing everything the world has to offer. Now you just do it with your kids in tow — and they can only benefit from it.
6. Kids First: Millennials aren’t as self-centered as everyone thinks. Sure, it WAS all about you. But now your kids come first. That so-called selfishness somehow translates into selflessness when millennials become moms and dads. And you can’t get better than that.
What makes you a mega-mama? Tweet us your millennial strengths @BritandCo!
(Photos via Getty)
