Millennial Teacher With Kids Of Her Own Shares 11 Boomer Parenting Philosophies She Agrees With
She doesn’t think parents today are following these important principles.
Evgeny Atamanenko / Shutterstock As both a teacher and a soon-to-be mom, Teresa Newman reflected on her own childhood and picked out specific parenting philosophies that boomers followed that had a significant impact on her life.
Many of the principles she shared are not widely followed by parents today, so she took to TikTok to reflect on their importance even in our modern world.
Here are the 11 boomer parenting philosophies a millennial teacher agrees with.
1. Children don’t need iPads or tablets.
Not only did she not grow up with a tablet, but Newman actively saw the consequences of technology on children in her classroom.
Instead of increasing play time, interacting with more kids, and experiencing nature, many kids today are stuck interacting and learning with technology.
While these devices can be a blessing for older children in school, the introduction of tablets or iPads at a young age can have serious consequences in language delays and can ultimately lead to children speaking less overall.
2. Your child does not need a smartphone until they’re at least in high school.
While access to the internet is far less regulated for older children, parents can decrease the chances of internet harm early in their kids’ lives. Increased dangers like online predators, bullying, and harmful self-worth ideas can all stem from the early adoption of social media and internet access for kids under 18 years old.
“I don’t want my kids to have that free reign of the internet,” Newman said. “I made some really poor choices as a child,” the teacher admitted about her early internet usage, “and I do not want to repeat that mistake with my kid.”
3. Teaching children the value of education outside of financial stability.
When it comes to education, Newman's opinion was clear, “This has nothing to do with how much money you’ll be making in the future or how much success you’ll have professionally — but you’ll value it nonetheless.”
Regardless of whether her kids pursue higher education, she stressed the importance of being a “lifelong learner.”
4. Children should always respect their teachers and treat them well.
“Anyone who has gone through a professional degree program, has put in the time, and is there giving you a quality education deserves some type of attention and deserves to be treated well,” Newman stressed.
Photo: FatCamera / Canva Pro
We’ve all grown up to dislike a teacher at some point in our lives. Acting out on those feelings, however, is inappropriate, especially at school. Unless the teacher is acting inappropriately, or another student is being hurt by their actions, students should always be respectful of a teacher’s wishes.
5. Be kind to the elderly.
Confused as to why this is so controversial for people on the internet, Newman argued that her kids will treat older people with respect, even if that means something as simple as giving up their seats on public transportation or helping with groceries.
“Does this mean they have to be nice to every old person who is mean to them, especially if they’re strangers and don’t know or owe them anything? No, absolutely not.” she clarified.
6. Children should have manners including using ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no, sir’ to address people, regardless of age.
Newman appreciated that boomer parents instilled a sense of respect in their children to address people politely. She added that if they have to drop the “ma’am or sir” to respect someone’s gender identity, then they’ll know when it’s appropriate to do so.
7. Children should use terms of gratitude like ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’
“These terms of gratitude are just not being taught like they used to,” she admitted about children today. “It’s a really simple way to raise a kid who is polite.”
Maryanne Parker, author and etiquette expert, supports this idea. “Kids learn etiquette and good behavior first at home,” she said. “However, it has become increasingly difficult for parents to present this knowledge to their kids simply because everyone is so busy and the emphasis has always been on the hard skills.”
8. There should be consequences for poor behavior.
Education philosopher Justin Baeder agreed and further explained, “Kids today are protected from retaliation, but free to hurt other people.”
Implementing this basic Boomer principle of discipline, even if it’s just a timeout or taking away a toy, can help to ensure children understand the consequences of poor behavior.
9. Kids should be respectful of adult conversations and adult spaces.
“Regardless of whether or not you think children are equals in society,” Newman said, “they need to be taught to respect their place in adult conversations and adult spaces.”
Similar to the simple manners she also emphasized, children shouldn’t be able to overstep boundaries that we wouldn’t allow other adults to.
10. Children should clean up their messes and play a part in household chores.
“My children are going to be putting as much work into the house as we are, regardless of if he’s paying rent or not,” Newman proclaimed.
She reiterated the importance of modeling behavior at home and teaching kids basic skills early on. “I don’t want him to be a burden on someone else.”
11. Bedtimes should be enforced as long as children are living under your roof.
Newman's take: Missing out on life because you pulled an “all-nighter” or stayed up too late the night before is unacceptable. There’s no reason to be sacrificing your well-being even for schoolwork.
Research on the importance of sleep for young people found that a lack of sleep can have more severe consequences for children than for adults including increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and difficulty managing emotions.
As a teacher, Newman had firsthand experience with the consequences of children who don’t have parents enforcing these basic principles. And although boomers get a bad rap from younger generations, in the case of these tried and true parenting philosophies, it might be time to start reintroducing them.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.