Here are their eye-opening responses:
1.
“My parents raised me in a heavily Christian religious home.
It ended up dramatically affecting my self-worth when I didn’t keep up with the unrealistic expectations.
Now, I won’t let my daughter anywhere near that particular religion.
Or any organized religion, for that matter.”
Anonymous
2.
“I’ll never be able to relate to my kids.
And we did.”
“The biggest difference has to do with technology.
There was no texting, and we had to take a lot of faith.
I have peace of mind that my kids can text me.”
My husband and I can also say baby food has gotten a million times yummier.
They don’t know how lucky they have it!"
“Access to jobs.
Today, its much harder for anyone to get a job.
The process is online and has lots of hoops to jump through.”
“Sports are so competitive at an early age now.
It’s not just for fun or team building.
It’s expensive, stressful, and ultimately, it comes down to politics.”
He’ll never initiate the kitchen cabinets to find nothing but seasonings and condiments.
He’ll never kick off the fridge to find it completely empty.
My life goal was to break the cycle of poverty and give him a better life.
I get emotional thinking about the life I’m protecting him from."
“How I talk about my body.
I can be very insecure about my body and the space I take up.
10.“Privacy.
We had privacy when I was growing up.
If you did something bad or embarrassing, it eventually died.
There was no record (unless it involved the police).
Eventually, nobody knew, and you could exhale, grateful that thing was behind you.
Bullying, when it existed, was local.
NYC4EVER
11. thegassygoose
12.
“The way we’re disciplined.
My husband and I got spanks, slaps, and hits.
You couldn’t get me away from it.
Now, kids just ‘color’ on iPads.”
“I grew up in a time when ‘free-range’ parenting was the rule rather than the exception.
We roamed around the neighborhood and made our own fun.
When the streetlights came on, we came home.
Trite but true.”
You had to make a supervised play date.”
“My parents were selfish, narcissistic, homophobic, racist a-holes.
HUGE house, Jaguars/Mercedes, NHL season tickets, their own vacations, etc.
But never money for us, no family vacations, etc.
That first year, I was destitute and even went a full week without eating.”
Dad died, discovered they were bankrupt, and their net worth was virtually zero.
It was all a show to impress others.
Mom is now living in a dumpy apartment.
GmanCan
16.
“How very much engaged we need to be.
“Now, we can hover over our kids via an app and track their movements.
It seems quite a foreign concept, even now.
applesauceandchops
17.
“The instant gratification of technology.
“The differences are night and day!
They have everything on demand.
Whatever they want to watch, eat, or play with is readily available.
My life revolves around them and their schedules.
After school, weekends are filled with sports, activities, birthday parties, and play dates.
This meant long hours and many things missed.
It also meant opportunities for us that they never had.
bravewolf321
20.
“How unsupervised we were.
We had to come back when the streetlights were on and stay within a certain block radius.
stylishminion27
21.
And finally…
22.
Some perv could be wearing techy glasses and recording my kids; we won’t even know it.
It’s so nerve-racking.”
sleepingminion78
Responses have been edited for length/clarity
