Boomers, Xers Often Differ on Parenting

Nov. 4, 2007 — -- With books, Web sites and classes all touing the latest parenting techniques, generation X-ers may have a much greater volume of parenting information available to them than what baby boomers had at the same point in their lives.

"It's like parenting has become a profession, and that parents are armed with a lot of expertise and they have a lot of rules on how they want things done," said Clare McHugh, of "All You Magazine."

Now that the baby boomers are grandparents, there may be differing views on how to raise the newest generation of kids in the family.

"We didn't have a word 'parenting' when we were parents," said Karen Dem, a grandmother who plays an active role in her granddaughter's life. "We were parents and we raised our children. Today, parenting is a verb: How do you parent?"

Dem's daughter, Roanna Mostma, and her son-in-law, Marc, may not always agree with Dem on the best course of action for Brooke, 4, but things never get too heated.

Still the differences can be quite clear, like at the dinner table.

"I'll get up and make another meal for Brooke, my four-year-old, as opposed to just saying, 'Look, dinner is made. Eat it or don't eat it,'" Roanna said.

The approach is different than the one Roanna's mother used when she was growing up.

"I made dinner and that's what it was," Karen said. "If they didn't eat it, for the most part, unless it was something exotic, then they didn't eat it and waited until breakfast."

While determining whether are not to make an extra meal may be a matter of personal preference. But some things that were tolerated decades ago now are not because new safety standards have arisen.

"We didn't have the car seats like they do today -- the five-point harnesses and the stroller," Karen said. "[Now, there are] helmets for everything."

And then there's the often-controversial topic of discipline. The country's view has changed drastically, and is illustrated by Sylvia Ramsell and her daughter Cynthia Ramsell.