I can’t think of anything harder than parenting today. I don’t have children of my own, but I clearly see the challenges in raising them today.
It must feel like like trying to raise a human in a house with no walls and a thousand open windows. Your kids hear every voice and are exposed to every fear.
In the past parents could shield their kids from the worst of the world. No longer. There’s no longer that clear boundary between the world children kids live in and the one parents hope to shield them from.
News is inescapable. So are cruelty, comparison, catastrophe. None of it waits until they are old enough to understand. It’s all right there in front them. And I don’t envy parents today, who must figure out how much to explain, how much to protect, and how much to let go.
That kind of vigilance must be exhausting.
Screens were sold to us with the promise of connection but instead, for many kids they deliver only pressure, as we’ve seen from kids who felt so inadequate in comparison to others they’ve have gone so far as to take their own lives. Imagine your kid succumbing to pressure coming from behind a screen. It’s heartbreaking. In an encouraging move, some countries and now some of our states have banned or are considering bans on social media for kids under the mid-teens.
That sounds wise to me. But not really enogh.
The social worlds kids inhabit every day are open day and night. Our culture monetizes insecurity and then asks why children are anxious. Hell, WE are anxious!
Parents are asked to monitor, limit, encourage, affirm, discipline, and stay endlessly calm, while being told that one wrong move could scar a child for life. Stakes are high and the margin for error feels very small.
Not to mention the loneliness.
Extended families are scattered across the globe so connections are harder. Communities are thinner, too, so it’s harder to connect with them. Everyone is watching, judging, offering certainty from the cheap seats and it’s relentless. Parents are expected to be experts in psychology, technology, nutrition, education, and trauma—often without support, and usually while carrying their own unresolved trauma.
That’s parenting today.
And yet, amid all of this, parents keep showing up. They try again after getting it wrong. Because no one is perfect: everyone gets it wrong at one point or another.
Parenting today is not about perfection. The truth is, it’s about endurance: sticking out the hard times. It’s about having enough humility to recognize you don’t know it all. It’s about being present in an age designed to fracture attention and erode patience.
I admire the parents of today so much. The challenge is real—but so is the quiet, daily courage it takes to keep choosing to step up to such a big, important role in a world that makes it so hard.
Children remain our greatest and most cherished gift. Each generation of parents have had “modern” developments to contend with. Yes, today’s technological advances have provided us with new challenges. Just imagine being a parent during the potato famine in Ireland. Just imagine being alive in Ireland before the potato famine!
I guess my point is that, I agree there are many “new” issues parents have to manage. There have always been issues to manage. It’s just part of the “deal” and the challenge, pain and joy that comes with parenting. The joy being seeing your children grow into responsible adults.
I can’t imagine raising kids today. Somehow bringing up our sons over 30 years ago, we escaped school shootings, social media, cell phones, you name it. I give parents of school aged kids such credit, having to navigate this difficult world.
It really can be so hard. Our family is close together, but technology really makes parenting difficult even with that proximity. It feels so hard to keep the kids safe.
Between social media and distance, parenting is definitely more difficult than it’s ever been. I have learned that I can use tech as a positive, though, for helping the family stay in touch.
This was a thoughtful reflection on parenting today. I appreciate your honest tone about the challenges and emotional weight parents carry in modern life.
This is such a thoughtful read. Parenting today comes with challenges that previous generations never had to face, especially when it comes to technology and social media. Every parent is doing their best, and a little understanding and support can go a long way.
It can be tricky! I am always happy when people realize they do not have to be perfect. I learned early on that perfection is boring anyway. We’re all just doing our best!
I have an 11 year old and 13 year old, both boys. They have an ipad each but we have a LOT of parental restrictions on them. We don’t allow them to have them in their bedrooms, and they don’t have a phone yet. It’s scary what some kids have access to!
It really is a challenging time to be a parent. With all the recent news about students being stabbed and school shooting incidents here in the Philippines, it’s hard not to worry about our children’s safety. Every time we send them off to school, we can only hope and pray that they’ll come home safe. It truly takes courage to be a parent these days and to keep showing up every day for the people who matter most.
I do not have kids, and my niece is much older. I would not want to have kids in this generation. So hard. I agree; the news, social, it’s right there all the time. While you may control it at home, if they are with a friend, you never know.
Parenting today is hard work and I have noticed there is a lot of judging which I hate. It’s changed so much over the years. Parents these days have so much more to monitor and keep on top of.
I concur. Parenting, in general, is tough and when you add internet exposure as another layer, it makes thing even tougher.
As a parent of now older children, I am grateful that my children made better choices than some of their peers.
It wasn’t entirely accidental. We raised them in a fairly liberal yet Christian household with access to books, TV, travel and the internet.
We discussed things. We argued. We laughed and cried over many life events. We listened and sometimes they felt heard. Parenting is not perfect and perfection is not required, neither is rigidity as neither are truly effective. Communication is an important factor in all of this and we must learn to hear and listen to our children voice their opinions about the complex world they inhabit.
Calling all the shots and expecting them to tow the line is not the answer.
Including them in decision-making that affects them produces better results and a bridge to maturity.
All or nothing parents end up with rebellious, angry kids. Yep. I was once that kid.
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Children remain our greatest and most cherished gift. Each generation of parents have had “modern” developments to contend with. Yes, today’s technological advances have provided us with new challenges. Just imagine being a parent during the potato famine in Ireland. Just imagine being alive in Ireland before the potato famine!
I guess my point is that, I agree there are many “new” issues parents have to manage. There have always been issues to manage. It’s just part of the “deal” and the challenge, pain and joy that comes with parenting. The joy being seeing your children grow into responsible adults.
I can’t imagine raising kids today. Somehow bringing up our sons over 30 years ago, we escaped school shootings, social media, cell phones, you name it. I give parents of school aged kids such credit, having to navigate this difficult world.
It really can be so hard. Our family is close together, but technology really makes parenting difficult even with that proximity. It feels so hard to keep the kids safe.
Between social media and distance, parenting is definitely more difficult than it’s ever been. I have learned that I can use tech as a positive, though, for helping the family stay in touch.
This was a thoughtful reflection on parenting today. I appreciate your honest tone about the challenges and emotional weight parents carry in modern life.
This is such a thoughtful read. Parenting today comes with challenges that previous generations never had to face, especially when it comes to technology and social media. Every parent is doing their best, and a little understanding and support can go a long way.
It can be tricky! I am always happy when people realize they do not have to be perfect. I learned early on that perfection is boring anyway. We’re all just doing our best!
I have an 11 year old and 13 year old, both boys. They have an ipad each but we have a LOT of parental restrictions on them. We don’t allow them to have them in their bedrooms, and they don’t have a phone yet. It’s scary what some kids have access to!
I strongly believe in listening without rushing to fix everything. That simple approach can strengthen any parent-child relationship.
It really is a challenging time to be a parent. With all the recent news about students being stabbed and school shooting incidents here in the Philippines, it’s hard not to worry about our children’s safety. Every time we send them off to school, we can only hope and pray that they’ll come home safe. It truly takes courage to be a parent these days and to keep showing up every day for the people who matter most.
I do not have kids, and my niece is much older. I would not want to have kids in this generation. So hard. I agree; the news, social, it’s right there all the time. While you may control it at home, if they are with a friend, you never know.
You hit the nail on the head regarding how hard it is to balance protecting them while letting them grow.
Parenting today is hard work and I have noticed there is a lot of judging which I hate. It’s changed so much over the years. Parents these days have so much more to monitor and keep on top of.
So true. Just more complicated today.
I concur. Parenting, in general, is tough and when you add internet exposure as another layer, it makes thing even tougher.
As a parent of now older children, I am grateful that my children made better choices than some of their peers.
It wasn’t entirely accidental. We raised them in a fairly liberal yet Christian household with access to books, TV, travel and the internet.
We discussed things. We argued. We laughed and cried over many life events. We listened and sometimes they felt heard. Parenting is not perfect and perfection is not required, neither is rigidity as neither are truly effective. Communication is an important factor in all of this and we must learn to hear and listen to our children voice their opinions about the complex world they inhabit.
Calling all the shots and expecting them to tow the line is not the answer.
Including them in decision-making that affects them produces better results and a bridge to maturity.
All or nothing parents end up with rebellious, angry kids. Yep. I was once that kid.