“Maya did a big poo and a medium wee, can you log it for me?” My husband shouts across the room and I groan in frustration. Not because it’s ridiculous that we’ve logged every nappy change she’s ever had (how else would I know that she’s healthily filling her nappies!?) but because we have our Huckleberry apps linked so I know he can log it himself! I am a self-confessed nerdy millennial parent and I fall into the stereotype of over-using technology, eating a ridiculous amount of avocado and trying my best to avoid the full force of social media scrutinisation when it comes to parenting.
My boomer parents and in-laws find it hilarious that we track nappy changes and feeds, and to be fair I think it’s probably overkill, but I love having the data! I wonder if I’ll look at Maya’s generation in years to come and find humour in her choices.
Generation Alpha describes babies born 2010 to 2024, and whilst Maya was born in 2023 she will probably have more in common with Generation Beta who will be born 2025 to 2039. These generations are the first to be fully digital natives, they will seamlessly interact with Artificial Intelligence and have high expectations of the world around them. But they are also at risk of finding socialising harder, and struggling with mental health. These next generations are likely be the first to experience a decline in global population, they may see mass displacement of people due to global warming and world wars within their lifetimes - how can we as parents prepare them for this? I honestly have no idea.
I wonder how Maya’s generation will view my life choices. Will it be horrific to them that I took long haul flights? Will she think it’s crazy that I ate meat and dairy, but always recycled my plastic? I took Maya to a BIBS organised King Charles coronation party, which was light hearted and mainly an excuse to socialise, though there may have been a royalist or two amongst us. I have no idea what Maya’s views will be when she’s older but I thoroughly enjoyed dressing her up in a Charlie Bear outfit, just in case she becomes an anti-monarchist.
It is predicted that Maya’s generation will be in education for longer than previous generations, have children later, and move out from under their parent’s wings later. So it may be a long time before she flees the nest! Until then, my parenting support network is a huge crutch for me, a group of people I’ve been able to expand through BIBS events.
Time will tell what our children will experience in their lifetimes and I guess as parents we can only do the best we can to raise them to be good humans. Until then, I’ll try to wean myself off tracking Maya’s every bowel movement and not get too disappointed if she doesn’t love avocados as much as I do.
Priyanka, mum to Maya
Comments