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The role of a parent is significant and all-consuming. Raising a child may seem straightforward, but how parenting has changed since the late 1990s is truly remarkable. Parenting methods have evolved drastically, reflecting shifts in technology, societal norms, and family dynamics.
The number of stay-at-home mothers has dropped significantly, from 49 percent in 1967 to 23 percent in 1999. The working parent was a common expectation, similar to today. The specifics of parenting, however, are surprisingly different.
How Parenting Has Changed: Safe Sleep
Today, ‘safe sleep’ is a term thrust upon new parents from the day they bring their newborn home. With current research suggesting a minimal sleep environment to reduce the chance of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), parents are embracing a clean-cut approach to their child’s sleep.
Today, children typically sleep in an empty crib with fitted sheets pulled tight. There are no fabrics that may block airways, including stuffed animals. It is an almost clinically tidy space.
In the late 1990s, however, infant sleep was very different. Though a campaign for safe sleep appeared in 1994, for the most part, parents provided the same sleeping environment that they had experienced as children. Crib bumpers, quilts, pillows, and stuffed animals were all welcomed to help soothe a young child.
Internet Safety
Because technology was still in the early stages of internet advancement during the 90s, it was rare for children to have internet access. Homework was completed at a kitchen table with a pencil and paper rather than on a computer. Internet forums were barely used by adults, let alone children.
In 2024, internet safety is a huge concern for parents. The open communication between individuals on social media, gaming platforms, and even informative blogs is a red flag for any parent looking out for their child’s safety. Additionally, cyberbullying is an issue that has only arisen in past years, creating just another level of concern for parents.
Screen Time
There is much debate today about screen time for children, but in the late 1990s, it was far less accessible. Many parents did not have mobile phones, and those who did likely did not have phones with game or video accessibility. Likewise, the iPad did not exist until 2010.
A videotape or DVD were some of the only options for children needing temporary distraction. Even then, it was unusual for children to have more time in front of the TV than necessary.
Today, parents embrace not just the accessibility of technology but also the wide range on offer. Children’s tablets exist as a way of keeping young children entertained. Phones with child safety measures are available. Cars are designed with rear entertainment systems.
Research on the effects of too much screen time on young children is constantly evolving. Still, for now, the reality is enormously juxtaposed to 25 years ago.
Parenting: An Aging Community
Between 1970 and 2000, the mean age for a woman to give birth to her first child was 21 to 25. In 2021, however, the mean age of a first-time mother in the United States was 27.3. The shift in age reflects the more significant economic pressure that society is experiencing.
One study published by the National Library of Medicine suggests that with the rise in assisted fertility technologies, women can delay childbirth to a time when they feel more established in other areas of their lives.
Where once childrearing was practiced under the energetic youth of a woman’s twenties, today, women in their thirties and even forties are comfortably setting out on a journey of motherhood for the first time.
An Age of Accessible Information
Parenthood comes with an overwhelming wave of uncertainty. In some cultures, experienced family members will come to new parents and offer practical support and advice, sometimes for weeks, to ease this reality. Unfortunately, in modern-day America, this is seldom possible.
With so many questions and continuous changes in a child, parents turn to the one common savior: Google.
Any new parent will sympathize with the sheer uncertainty displayed in their search history. Is my child crying because they’re hungry or angry? What is this rash from? Why is my child not sleeping?
The questions, once directed to the family, are now sent directly into the interweb for an immediate answer. While the online instant support may be welcome, it can feel overwhelming for some. Better or worse than the old way? The answer differs among individuals.
Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Difficult
Before 2004, social media was condensed to clunky impersonal forums that were more about expressing creativity than acknowledging personal milestones. But by 2012, both Facebook and Instagram had all but taken over the social media market, presenting individuals with a new way to express themselves.
Where social media opens a door to internet dangers, it also provides community. Connecting parents globally means communities form through those with things in common. Parents struggling with a particular child’s disability can come together with others experiencing the same.
Groups on Facebook offer support for hundreds and thousands of women experiencing infertility. Even stay-at-home dads have found their way to Instagram, sharing updates of their lives and receiving feedback from others doing much the same.
Equally, social media provides a hive for potential comparison, where displays of perfect parenthood can seem disheartening and unrealistic. It is an everchanging environment that can feel both encouraging and dispiriting.
Changes Led by Technology
While parenting methods hover around similar practices, it is clear that changes within the last decades result from technological advancement. Medical research and the changes in personal technologies are leading factors in the shift in parenting.
When we observe parenting in the 1960s, we see a consistent trend of women staying home to raise children while husbands attended the workforce. By 2000, this had shifted to both working parents, though mothers still seemed to marry and produce children young. In 2024, the environment will change to something more adaptive to today’s society.
With global influences and continual advancement, we can only wonder what parenting will look like in twenty years.
