Millennial parents have revealed the top family rules they're relying on throughout 2024 to make sure they don't make the same mistakes that their own parents made when they were growing up.
There's lots of things millennials loved about their childhoods, not least the popular toys they played with that bring on a massive dose of nostalgia today. But for all the good memories, there's also some they'd rather forget. And, unfortunately, it's both the good and the bad childhood memories that shape who we are.
No matter what experiences you had growing up, it's likely they've shaped your own parenting style. By understanding what people wish their parents had done differently while they were growing up, many millennial parents today have introduced, or completely removed, certain parenting rules from their children's lives to, hopefully, give them a different upbringing to the one they themselves had.
With that in mind, POPSUGAR spoke to millennial parents to reveal what their parenting rules and tips look like today - and it really does prove they don't want to make the same mistakes as their parents.
5 millennial parenting rules for 2024
- Relaxing rules about sleep. "My daughter, who is 2, sleeps in our room, and she will until she doesn't want to anymore," one parent shared. "I hated sleeping by myself as a kid, and as an adult, I still don't sleep alone. I never want her to feel alone in her own house."
- Making sure children understand the parent's own behaviour. "My biggest thing is apologising to my kids when I have my own big feelings," another said. "I was raised tiptoeing around adults' feelings, and when they would blow up, I always felt like it was my job to apologise to them or do them favours or be extra sweet until they felt better. Now, I make sure to apologise to my kids when I lose my sh** and explain that being a grown up can be hard."
- Rules about punishments. Another parent shared how they're taking a more gentle approach to parenting with their child after experiencing their own heated childhood. "We don't spank our kids," they said. "We may smack a hand or two in the heat of the moment, but never anything more than that. My mum was a spanking mom when I was a child, so it's something I feel really strongly about."
- Teaching kids to open up about their feelings. "I wasn't allowed to stand up to my parents or say when something was bothering me or hurting my feelings. One of my proudest accomplishments is that my daughter is comfortable enough to tell me exactly how she's feeling or if I've hurt her feelings," another parent revealed. "Her being able to express her emotions openly is so nice for all of us."
- Helping children feel comfortable with their emotions, no matter what they are. Sharing another emotion-led parenting technique, one parent said, "My son is allowed to be something other than happy. Growing up, if we had any feelings other than happy, we were told to fix our attitude. I tell my son he can feel his feelings."
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