‘Every generation has its challenges’: Raising children now vs the good old days

Having children is one of life’s greatest joys, but it’s no secret that parenting has its fair share of difficulties.

Equipping children with the skills to make their own life decisions is a daunting prospect, and then comes that part in the journey when it’s time to let go and watch the cycle continue as you get to experience the joys of grandparenting.

Raising children in today’s society is vastly different from the good old days when street lights were an indication of home time and being locked indoors was considered a punishment.

Now, curious parents want to know who had it harder when it comes to raising kids.

Shared to an online forum Ask Old People on Reddit, one user asked: “Grandparents, do you think raising children now is more difficult than when you had children?”

“For example, due to differences in societal expectations, politics, environment, technology, economy, information exchange, support systems, etc.,” the post continued.

The post received a unanimous consensus in responses that technology and the internet have drastically changed parenting.

“Parents now face a lot of challenges I didn’t. The internet has changed things in a way no one predicted,” one person replied.

“When my kids were born, technology had progressed from when I was a child, but society was basically the same. They were in high school when we got the internet. Back then you paid by the minute, so internet time was very restricted.

“The problem now is that you have far less control on what they see. The internet has some good sides, but it also has dark sides. When I was a kid, if you said the earth was flat, everyone would laugh at you. Today, you can go on the internet and find thousands who will agree with you.”

Another user agreed, saying it’s seemingly impossible to keep on top of the things children are being exposed to, noting that it’s even more so now that it’s the norm for both parents to go to work.

“Yes. Kids today are exposed and have access to so much more media content, it’s impossible to police them 24/7. No parent can be there 24/7, especially with teenagers, I get that,” the comment read.

“I had my kids in late 80s, early 90s, things were still pretty benign as far as cell phones and notebooks, fb, ig, twitter, snapchat, tiktok….none of that existed…[I don’t know, in my opinion] kids today deal with more bullying (cyber and in person), stress, depression.

“It has to be incredibly difficult to make sure they’re not getting into things they shouldn’t, especially if both work. What are today’s parents supposed to do? Install keystroke logging software to monitor what kids search and view online? And tracking apps so they know where their kids are?”

Another inciteful user suggested that it’s not a competition of who had it harder, but rather just a difference in challenges.

“I think every generation has its challenges when it comes to raising children,” they said.