I think the advent of effective contraception is a big part of the story of why children went from the default to a choice in the mid 20th century in the US.
Hi, Dylan. You have covered great ground here! This post looks at the current state of modern parenting from several angles. Also, the hyperlinks allude to the effort undertaken to back your narrative with research. Thanks for sharing.
As someone from India (Metro City), I can confidently say that a lot of the problems you have highlighted are being faced by several Indian Millennial Parents from metropolitan cties as well, primarily due to the nuclear family set-up. So, the issue is not restricted to a certain geography. Looking forward to the second part!
Hey Yash, appreciate the kind words! Interested to hear this isn't just an 'American' issue - I can only speak from that perspective, so I'd love to hear more about the similarities you see in Indian parenting!
Well, I cannot speak for everyone because India is an extremely diverse country. But as I mentioned previously, in my experience of living in a Metro city, and observations related to my peers, there are several overlaps regarding what you have mentioned. And a lot of the issues stem from a shift from a larger/joint family set-up to a nuclear family set-up (which also has its advantages, and like everything else is a trade-off).
Our previous generation was raised in a collective set-up whereas the current one is primarily being raised in an individual/nuclear set-up (in cities). And like is the case with a lot of things, the middle generation is the 'sandwich generation' feeling the pressure from both ends.
The Indian economy opened-up in the 90s (globalisation) -- a pivotal point in the country's evolution. This echoes with what you have mentioned in the 'how we got here' section. But I am not sure if parenting needs a rebrand in India because we are in the process of discovering who we are by rediscovering our origins via acknowledging, understanding, and embracing our civilisational roots that go back thousands of years.
The wheel of time is moving quickly -- there's a churn. And in a way, modern Indian parenting is a reflection of this where every family is going through this transition at their own pace and approaching parenting accordingly.
Totally understand what you mean - I grapple with generalizing too much when discussing parenting in the U.S., let alone on a global scale.
There seems to be a lot of correlation between trends in family organization from what I've seen in the U.S. and what you've seen in India. In particular, the nuclear family model causing the current generation of families to feel sandwiched between caring for their children and caring for their parents.
That said, I think you've raised an important cultural difference between our countries that explains why they require different response to this trend: societal history and longstanding traditions. In the U.S., our cultural origins primarily trace back to the norms that were brought over during European colonization, and our societal structure has been built upon political & economic freedom rather than generational traditions. I think this makes American culture prone to significant changes, which can require correction (in this case, a rebrand) when a change oversteps.
I would suggest doing less law-enforcement micromanaging of poor parents. We could start by requiring actual knowledge to convict a caregiver of a hot-car criminal homicide, and introducing a no-harm-no-foul defense for child neglect. I believe there's a chilling effect that comes with the knowledge that if you're a sufficiently bad parent, or even just a parent with unusual opinions on good childrearing, you could go to prison.
I think the advent of effective contraception is a big part of the story of why children went from the default to a choice in the mid 20th century in the US.
Hi, Dylan. You have covered great ground here! This post looks at the current state of modern parenting from several angles. Also, the hyperlinks allude to the effort undertaken to back your narrative with research. Thanks for sharing.
As someone from India (Metro City), I can confidently say that a lot of the problems you have highlighted are being faced by several Indian Millennial Parents from metropolitan cties as well, primarily due to the nuclear family set-up. So, the issue is not restricted to a certain geography. Looking forward to the second part!
Hey Yash, appreciate the kind words! Interested to hear this isn't just an 'American' issue - I can only speak from that perspective, so I'd love to hear more about the similarities you see in Indian parenting!
Well, I cannot speak for everyone because India is an extremely diverse country. But as I mentioned previously, in my experience of living in a Metro city, and observations related to my peers, there are several overlaps regarding what you have mentioned. And a lot of the issues stem from a shift from a larger/joint family set-up to a nuclear family set-up (which also has its advantages, and like everything else is a trade-off).
Our previous generation was raised in a collective set-up whereas the current one is primarily being raised in an individual/nuclear set-up (in cities). And like is the case with a lot of things, the middle generation is the 'sandwich generation' feeling the pressure from both ends.
The Indian economy opened-up in the 90s (globalisation) -- a pivotal point in the country's evolution. This echoes with what you have mentioned in the 'how we got here' section. But I am not sure if parenting needs a rebrand in India because we are in the process of discovering who we are by rediscovering our origins via acknowledging, understanding, and embracing our civilisational roots that go back thousands of years.
The wheel of time is moving quickly -- there's a churn. And in a way, modern Indian parenting is a reflection of this where every family is going through this transition at their own pace and approaching parenting accordingly.
Totally understand what you mean - I grapple with generalizing too much when discussing parenting in the U.S., let alone on a global scale.
There seems to be a lot of correlation between trends in family organization from what I've seen in the U.S. and what you've seen in India. In particular, the nuclear family model causing the current generation of families to feel sandwiched between caring for their children and caring for their parents.
That said, I think you've raised an important cultural difference between our countries that explains why they require different response to this trend: societal history and longstanding traditions. In the U.S., our cultural origins primarily trace back to the norms that were brought over during European colonization, and our societal structure has been built upon political & economic freedom rather than generational traditions. I think this makes American culture prone to significant changes, which can require correction (in this case, a rebrand) when a change oversteps.
I would suggest doing less law-enforcement micromanaging of poor parents. We could start by requiring actual knowledge to convict a caregiver of a hot-car criminal homicide, and introducing a no-harm-no-foul defense for child neglect. I believe there's a chilling effect that comes with the knowledge that if you're a sufficiently bad parent, or even just a parent with unusual opinions on good childrearing, you could go to prison.