Parenting is a challenging endeavour. It is one the of the most important jobs a person can take on; to raise another human being with the goal to groom him or her to be a secure, happy adult; who is able to contribute and function productively in our society. This job is so important and yet most people receive zero training on the methods of effective parenting.

Every generation of parents is faced with unique challenges in raising their child to the best of their ability. What are the pros and cons of bringing up children in the 21st century as compared to the 20th century? While we face many benefits, we also face many new challenges while raising our children in the 21st century.

Today’s parents are living in a very different world from the one they grew up in. Most of the families are dual income, where both parents have to work full time, which limits hands-on time they have with their children. It also means that children have access to more television, video games and other forms of social media that parents themselves are struggling to manage. Children also have greater access to educational opportunities but this can also present challenges to how much free time they have to play and just be kids.

Good or Bad?

Parenting is challenging because it really requires us to think about what we want to teach our children in terms of skills, values and morals. As parents, we have to think about how we are going to teach those values, why and when to do it.

One of the biggest cons for parents is that the ability to leverage how our parents parented us may no longer be applicable in today’s world. So in many aspects, parents today are required to start over from ground zero.

One pro is we are now more well-informed and educated about child, brain and learning development. We know that children need more than just the basic necessities to thrive; they also need a loving environment and a secure main care-giver. The infant mortality rate is increasingly higher with more children surviving through the cradle to grave due to technological and medical advancements.

What stays the same

What remains, however, from generation to generation is the love parents have for their children. The love and desire to see their children not only survive but thrive. What parents can and should take advantage of today is the ability to access excellent parenting resources through books, classes, and parenting skills classes to improve oneself. Knowledge is probably the greatest benefit of raising a child today, but only if parents take advantage of it and use it wisely.

By Tammy M. Fontana from All in the Counselling.

Tammy Fontana, MS, NCC CTRT Sex Therapist (USA) is the founder and mental health therapist for both All in the Family Counselling and Babysleepfairy.com. She has been providing professional counselling and sleep services in Singapore for over 8 years. She has her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counselling (USA) and is a USA National Counsellor Counsellor (NCC) and Certified Choice Therapy Reality Therapist (CTRT). She is also a US trained certified Sex Therapist. She provides evidenced and practised based solutions to parents, individuals and couples.

What are your thoughts about parenting in today’s era?

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This article was first published in The New Age Parents e-magazine.

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