Raising children in 2017

While raising children in general is a momentous task, raising children 2017 brings with it some interesting challenges and adventures. Unlike our own childhoods, our children today know how to “dab”, especially after they finish a successful water bottle flip. They pretend to have their own YouTube channels, and vlog about being 5 years old. They know how to use snapchat, Siri and take better selfies than we do.

While parenting in 2017 includes free-range parents who stand up for childhood independence, and hipster parents who embrace the unexpected, moms and dads will find themselves encountering the same hurdles regardless of what parenting style they follow.

Here are a few of the hurdles moms and dads are tackling in 2017:

Money management - Do you remember how awesome it was to score R2 from the tooth fairy? Because we live in a digitally driven society, many children are provided easy access and visibility into a massive range of digitally available products, and most assume everything is for the taking “A cashless society”. Children don’t see and touch money like they did before, no more ceramic piggy banks, or trips to the corner café with your coins. It’s all about buying apps online, online games and downloading music. This all makes it increasingly difficult to teach our children the true value of money.

Advice and judgement - Private school or public school, bottle or breast, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate? So many choices and an abundance of advice. Before having children, every parent has that ideal parenting style they would like to adopt. And then life happens. So many parents try to adapt their parenting to what is accepted, or expected from parents in 2017, so much so that some children aren’t having their personal needs met. The key to good parenting in any age is to follow your instincts. Trust your instincts and remember that while you can get advice from people, at the end of the day you are the one raising your child/children. The influx of options on how to raise your child can cloud your judgement as a parent, and can make moms and dads doubt themselves and each other.

Straight talk about safety - Gone are the days when children played outside unsupervised until the street lights came on. Today we have to constantly warn our children about strangers. We have to teach our children how to get away from dangerous situations instead of letting them live fearlessly as children should.

Balancing the parenting seesaw - This is a particularly difficult task. Today so many parents struggle to balance working full time and raising a family. We want to be there for our children more than those 2 hours before bedtime, and weekends- in between work and school. For most of us, the reason we work is for our children. The important thing is remembering that reason, and to make the most out of the moments you are with your children.

Each generation has faced its own set of parenting challenges, and although ours may be different to the generations before, the end goal is still the same. To raise healthy, happy, courageous children that will make a difference. Get in there and take a selfie with your 5-year-old or learn to “dab” with your teenager, you’ll have memories that made parenting all worthwhile.