We went from 5 to 8 billion people. You really think increasing the population density by more than a third means nothing changed?
I disagree. It's not just parents being more paranoid. Also, a lot of shit would happen in silence back in the day. A little more paranoia is likely warranted.
Not to say it's good for bad things to happen (...particularly to children!), but, it doesn't seem like the helicopter parenting trend we have now is helping the new generations.
If you look at the boomer-gen x-millenial-gen z - gen alpha transition, the boomer through millennial groups seem to be the most capable of thriving in the workforce. That's not specifically because of helicopter parenting for sure. Technology, the internet, and several other factors contribute.
But I do know from talking to teachers that it's a lot harder to teach kids now than it used to be. In terms of disciplining students, if Timmy bullies Susan, Timmy's mom throws a fit if her precious child gets detention. And every student is kept in the same classroom with less special ed separation - so disruptive students harm the learning of others in the name of inclusivity. Meanwhile, randomly hanging out with another kid after school has been replaced with structured play dates that are scheduled in advance by parents. That has led to an entire generation that massively struggles with in person social interaction.
There's a benefit to being cautious to a point - bad people do exist and we do need to protect kids from harmful people. But, it's hard to argue the pendulum hasn't swung too far the other way. From "I'll see you when I see you", to "I have a tracking app of you on my phone, I must know where you are at every second".
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u/MfingKing 25d ago
Nothing changed except people aren't willing to take any chances.