Parents
“You And Your Brother Turned Out Fine”: 18 Boomer Parenting Trends That Are Deeply Questionable In 2024
Parenting trends, like all things, change with each generation. And boomers, in particular, favored some parenting styles that younger generations of parents find totally outrageous today. So Redditor u/The_Brolander asked, “What’s something your Boomer parents did with you that was laughably bad parenting?” Here’s what people said.
1. “My boomer mother thought it was hilarious to mock anything I liked mercilessly, no matter how harmless, not just to me but to anybody around. She embarrassed me out of liking so many things until I finally developed a screw you; I won’t let you spoil this for me attitude about it. And no, she wasn’t doing me any favors. To this day, I’m reticent about telling people about things I like because I’m half-expecting to be mocked.”
2. “My mom would send me to the nearby 7-Eleven with a hand-written note giving me permission to buy cigarettes for her…and the clerk would accept it!”
3. “Weeks back, when my baby was around six weeks, she had a terror of a day where she just wouldn’t settle. My mum and MIL suggested I give her water, but I told them it’s not recommended to have water for under six months. They thought this was odd but didn’t push further. Then, last week, my MIL babysat for a few hours and texted us a photo of her asleep on her side with three pillows around her. I told my partner this was not recommended and dangerous. I suppose those two things aren’t that crazy as they come up many times on Reddit, but then today, I told my mum she was being fussy today, and she said to me, ‘Try some food, or make a cup of tea and let her have a sip.’ She’s 11 weeks old. What in the world… Why. Why would you give an 11-week-old a cup of tea!? She says, ‘I know your generation is different, but that’s what I would do”. Oh, how times have changed.”
4. “According to my dad, I had Pepsi in my bottles because my parents thought keeping me caffeinated all day meant I’d sleep better at night. A lot more questionable decisions followed.”
5. “My boomer parents placed my little one facedown in the crease of a couch for a nap. Blankets on, surrounded by pillows. They got annoyed when I immediately woke her up to move her. ‘We did this all the time when you were a baby.’ SMH.”
6. “The best one I’ve heard from a boomer is, ‘If you want a baby to go to sleep, put the sun in their eyes.’ We live in Australia where the sun literally cooks us alive.”
7. “My mom told me to put honey on my little one’s pacifier for better sleep (she’s not the best sleeper). I said it’s on the bottle not to give it to a child under one year because it’s dangerous. Her answer was, ‘I gave it to you and your brother, and you’re fine, no?’ Yeah, Mom, but that was 30 years ago.”
8. “When I was five (1980), The Shining came out and was on HBO for its cable premiere. Wanting to spend time with my dad, I asked him if I could watch it. It’s arguably one of the most psychologically disturbing movies of its time, and he was cool with it. I watched 90% of it, peeking from behind his lazy boy. Then, knowing how badly it scared me, my father thought it would be funny for a few days after to stand at the foot of my bed with dead eyes, waking me up and asking if I wanted to ‘come to play with him…forever.'”
9. “Putting whiskey on a baby’s gums during teething was incredibly common, and boomers seem to think that actually helped teething pain with special magical whiskey pain relief rather than just sedating the baby with alcohol.”
10. “We stayed at my mom’s house last month, and she put out a pack-and-play for our girl. She didn’t think the mattress would be comfortable enough, so she put a dog bed under the sheet so it would be softer. I immediately made her remove it and explained why it was a bad idea. I also told her she sleeps on a firm mattress at home, so she’s fine to do that at their house, too.”
11. “My mom told me I was wasting money buying a bassinet and should just use a laundry basket.”
12. “I played alone, always. I was locked outside often so my mom could watch her soaps peacefully.”
13. “I’m Gen X and grew up in the ’70s and ’80s. I LOVED soccer and played it from age 8 to 18 and beyond. My mother came to one game, and my father did not. And this was true for all of my friends too. The sidelines were always empty. Meanwhile, I felt horrible when I missed one of my son’s games while he was playing, and I just can’t understand the boomer mindset.”
14. “Doing everything for their children. My mum did all our cooking, washing, and cleaning up after us. I moved out at 22 and got myself together (mostly). My brother (nearly 40) still struggles with maintaining his house. My kids will 100% have age-appropriate chores.”
15. “I was called homophobic words by my father and stepmom constantly for liking Pokemon. I was 11. Therapy has been beneficial in my adult life.”
16. “Saying ‘you can’t leave the table until you eat all your food.’ This leads to clearing your plate even if you’re not hungry, and a lifetime of overeating.”
18. “Probably number one on my list is putting me down to sleep on my stomach as a newborn in a drop-sided crib piled with loose blankets, stuffed dolls, crib bumpers, and throw pillows.”
What is a parenting trend that your parents or grandparents embraced that is considered outdated, strange, or even dangerous today? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
