Parenting challenges through the generations

As a parent, I’m fast finding out there are certain stages you go through. We had one of those stages in the early hours of Sunday morning when I discovered my child wide awake logging onto his computer – it was 2.08 am.

Mindful that sleep would be far more beneficial for him at this time, I told him to go back to bed. Less than an hour later, he was still awake, this time on his iPad which was promptly confiscated.

I’m sure every generation has its own parenting dilemma – in my stage of life, it’s the dilemma of technology and the need to set time limits and appropriate hours of the day for being on the various technological gadgets in our house.

If I think back to when I was growing up, my parents faced their own parenting dilemmas. A game called ‘Rocko’ was a favourite among friends in our street. We drew a circle on the footpath, put a rock inside the circle and someone kicked it out while everyone else ran to hide. The idea was to sneak back from your hiding place and kick the rock back out of the circle without being caught by the person who was ‘in’. Simple, harmless fun. But there was a strict curfew for being home at night.

When I think back, I’m pleased to say I don’t think I gave my parents too many dilemmas, unlike some other friends who have since confessed to sneaking out of bedroom windows to meet boys and pinching their dad’s car without him ever finding out.

As they say in the classics – everything old is new again – and the same can be said for parenting. Each generation has a parenting dilemma relevant to its time.

We are taking a snapshot of parenting through the generations.

What was the parenting dilemma you faced as a parent and how did you deal with it? You probably have a whole new set of modern day dilemmas as a grandparent too. We’d love you to share them with us.