The socioeconomic climate of the US throughout the Twentieth Century was bound to produce the generally lax, revolutionist, and “best buddy” parenting style of the 1960’s. As the years, wars, and economic struggles progressed, families overcame struggles again and again and raised persevering, hard working children. With every struggle, American citizens pulled together and triumphed. Until the Vietnam War. Fed up with an unjust war, seeking peace, and relatively finically stable, many young adults of the 1960’s began to raise families with only happiness and comfort in mind. The quality of life seemed to triumph life itself.
Parents were more concerned with the easy, happy, and carefree childhoods of their offspring instead of the formative and instructive ways of the past. Both generations of parents loved their children, but expressed it in different ways. This shift in child rearing rendered tangible results when the teen suicide rate grew by 250 percent during the “Hippy Era.” Maybe being the nice parent wasn't so nice in the long run.
The aftershocks of this radical change in parenting styles will forever be felt by future generations. Millennials, those born between 1981 and 2001 (aka my peer group), are the first generation predicted to be less successful in every aspect than their parents. Is this generational failure completely the parent’s fault? Certainly not. But the tendencies of laziness and selfishness must not be cultivated during childhood in order to create a successful adulthood. Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Now, this is not necessarily referring to corporal punishment within the household (that is a different argument for a different time), but this verse is wisely warning parents that discipline and boundaries are the best thing for a child’s future. If you can be friends with your children and raise them up to be contributing members of society that make this world a better place, great. But often I feel that “best buddy parenting” translates to “lazy parenting.” It makes life easy to only care if your child is happy in the moment, instead of looking at his or her longterm outcome. Parenting should be individualized for the child. Maybe looking to the past will be the best thing for the future of the United States’ posterity.
The aftershocks of this radical change in parenting styles will forever be felt by future generations. Millennials, those born between 1981 and 2001 (aka my peer group), are the first generation predicted to be less successful in every aspect than their parents. Is this generational failure completely the parent’s fault? Certainly not. But the tendencies of laziness and selfishness must not be cultivated during childhood in order to create a successful adulthood. Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Now, this is not necessarily referring to corporal punishment within the household (that is a different argument for a different time), but this verse is wisely warning parents that discipline and boundaries are the best thing for a child’s future. If you can be friends with your children and raise them up to be contributing members of society that make this world a better place, great. But often I feel that “best buddy parenting” translates to “lazy parenting.” It makes life easy to only care if your child is happy in the moment, instead of looking at his or her longterm outcome. Parenting should be individualized for the child. Maybe looking to the past will be the best thing for the future of the United States’ posterity.
Well written. Like your comment about easy parenting being lazy parenting.
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