Parents Worrying About Their Children's Future
22 posts across 6 communities in the last 30 days; 36% from r/Parenting.
“This post discusses a mass shooting and child deaths Hi fellow parents, For those of you in the USA, how do you cope with hearing about random acts of violence against children like what happened yesterday? I know that statistically school shootings are rare, even in the USA. I…”
“As long as you're involved in your kids lives and don't let them autopilot they will be fine. My kids are 16 and 19 and they're doing just fine. They can both read and write appropriately. The folks with kids that can't read clearly were never involved, because like you KNOW if…”
“I think we've done a good job creating a safe, loving home for our kids. Our kids are well adjusted and social, with great values. The issue I could see is them not having a tonne of drive or motivation. They have a very comfortable life without much insecurity and I could see…”
Several parents express anxieties about the world their children are inheriting, from air quality and environmental concerns to societal pressures and educational opportunities. They grapple with balancing providing for their kids while also feeling overwhelmed by larger systemic issues.
SOURCES (60)
“I am an millennial dad. Growing up nearly everyone in my northeast town went to church but I don't remember anyone being actually religious and by high school I think a lot of families and kids had fallen off going to church at all. I…”
“This post discusses a mass shooting and child deaths Hi fellow parents, For those of you in the USA, how do you cope with hearing about random acts of violence against children like what happened yesterday? I know that statistically school shootings are rare, even in the USA. I also know I can't hide my child from the world in an attempt to keep him safe. But after something like this happens it is so, so hard to send him off to school the next day. Have any of you found any ways to make it”
“Hey dads. Recently, my partner and I have started suspecting that our 2.75 year old is dealing with selective mutism . It appears to be an anxiety condition which manifests in an apparent refusal to talk to others, but is actually caused by an intense fear of doing so. We've noticed over the last month or so that our very chatty daughter no longer communicates to close family, such as her grandparents and our family friends, all of whom she would happily talk to before. She'll still be h”
“As long as you're involved in your kids lives and don't let them autopilot they will be fine. My kids are 16 and 19 and they're doing just fine. They can both read and write appropriately. The folks with kids that can't read clearly were never involved, because like you KNOW if your kid can properly read or not if you do their homework with them occasionally. The red flags will be flying and if you're a parent that cares you can get balls moving to help. [re: What can I do to”
“I feel so many people are teaching their kids to be the best, come out on top no matter what, rather you than them. It fucken sucks and I feel that this mentality is what has fucked society so much. It’s really a sad state of things and I would rather teach my kid to be kind than be mean and come out on top while stepping over people on the way up. submitted by /u/audioflc [link] [comments]”
“Holy shit is there a lot of "back in my day" in this thread. Kids are not any dumber. Definitely a few whose parents need to take their fucking screens away. But on the whole? No. Teenagers have always been a certain way, and no, you and your friends from high school were not any smarter. [re: Do you agree with internet comments that children these days are less intelligent than children decades and decades ago?]”
“I don’t think I really mean this but it’s so frustrating seeing kids be bad and having fun but having to tell my kids to stop doing something or behave and they get annoyed. And honestly, when you see jerks in politics or other professions succeeding, why even bother at this point? Seems like the jerks get ahead and we let them. submitted by /u/Transitive_Props [link] [comments]”
“Hello fellow dads! My son was born 4,5 years ago and maybe I wasn't looking enough before, but I swear the world has been declining rapidly since then (both economically and environmentally). I am really unsure what the world will look like when my son gets bigger and I fear that we've brought him into a world that is falling apart and potentially will be filled with a lot of suffering for both him and honestly us as his parents. You probably seen the comic with the conversation between”
“I think we've done a good job creating a safe, loving home for our kids. Our kids are well adjusted and social, with great values. The issue I could see is them not having a tonne of drive or motivation. They have a very comfortable life without much insecurity and I could see them not caring too much about being the "best" or succeeding. Has anyone come up with strategies to address this? submitted by /u/Sara_W [link] [comments]”
“Hi, I have a child of 12 years old and sadly I have a lot of troubles dealing with her. We are constantly in arguments. That has drained me psychologically. I wonder if you know any great book that gives a lot of concrete tips of how to deal with teenagers or to understand them more, please recommend it to me. If there's one book that I should read in order to lead teenagers better, what would it be ? Thank you. submitted by /u/zzzzoooo [link] [comments]”
“I don’t really know exactly how to word this post or what specifically I’m asking for. My baby is 9.5 weeks old and I already am so scared of what she will face in this world. The Cornell 7 case is all over social media/news and there are so many conversations about the horrors girls and women face every single day. Unfortunately, it does become our burden as girls/women to protect ourselves a lot of the time. How are we educating our daughters to be smart, safe, and feisty from a young age? I k”
“Specifically curious about your experience with these things and modelling them (or not) for your kids. Curious about this as it's a point of contention between my wife and I, and is more on my mind since we'll become parents in a couple of months. Really I'm just looking for a reality check. Being active and reading are both things that we plan on encouraging our kids to do, and I think the best way to do that is to model those things ourselves. My wife is kinda on the same track, b”
“I just really need to vent because I'm still fuming. We had our 5mo baptized yesterday. It went surprisingly well, but he wasn't able to fall asleep in the church, so he was really tired by the end of the ceremony. He also wouldn't eat in the church, as he is easily distracted. So after the ceremony, we took a few quick photos and then we ran home (5 minute walk) to feed him. He fell asleep during the feed so we were finally allowed to take off his dress, but we had to wake him up to”
“How are you teaching your children, aside from conversation, to not open doors and stay close to you, to not talk strangers and that they don’t need your help? I ask this bc some of these things don’t come up unless you’re in the situation and a lot of times your words can be forgotten. submitted by /u/Acceptable-Bus6879 [link] [comments]”
“I’m 30, and a new parent. I’ve been flooded with anxiety about the future of our world, and the impact it’ll have on my child’s life. Is there any hope? How do people cope with this when all the headlines and reports seem so depressing? All this talk of the El Niño has my spiraling. (I’m in Canada). submitted by /u/moosnews [link] [comments]”
“I’m 30, and a new parent. I’ve been flooded with anxiety about the future of our world, and the impact it’ll have on my child’s life. Is there any hope? How do people cope with this when all the headlines and reports seem so depressing? All this talk of the El Niño has my spiraling. (I’m in Canada). submitted by /u/moosnews [link] [comments]”
“Our 10yo daughter has been talking about death quite a bit recently. Wife (45) and I (48) waited 10 years to have her, so we’re on the older side. On more than one occasion, she’s said something along the lines of “I don’t want you guys getting older…I don’t want to say why cuz it’s sad.” On my birthday, she said, “I don’t want you having any more birthdays cuz I don’t want you getting old cuz ppl in their 50s are more likely to get cancer.” Then today, while she and my wife were listening to Ti”
“Anyone else anxious to be a parent with all this doom, fear mongering, climate crisis denial, crazy tech overlords and politicians always looming over our heads? Will we have water in the near future? will we have enough food? enough resources? will we be able to spend summers outside anymore going forward? I can’t be the only parent with these anxious thoughts for the future. I know I am already in a position of privilege that those worries are for the future and not active problems already, I”
“I'm trying to figure out what to do with my daughter and Instagram. Saying "no Instagram" doesn't feel very realistic to me because more and more of her social life is happening there. But saying yes also feels like I'm giving her access to much more than the thing she's actually asking for. She wants to talk to friends and be part of what they're doing. I'm worried about Reels, suggested videos and the endless feed. Have any of you found a good middle ground? I”
“I admire your dedication, but I'm afraid you might be unnecessarily depriving yourself. Some of my unorganized thoughts: Not traveling with a toddler is one thing, but as these children age, you need to give them life experiences. But those don't all have to be extravagant. My parents took me camping a lot as a kid, it made me the man I am. Thrifted children's clothes makes especially good sense, because they outgrow things so fast. But a good coat could last you or your husband ten”
“NOTE-PLEASE BE DON'T BE HARSH OR CRUEL I'm a dad of 16 year old daughter who is disabled due to cerebral palsy(due to birth injury.). She uses a manual wheelchair and her speech is slurred. My daughter doesn't have any intellectual disabilities. She has always done well in school and plans to major in computer science in college. Last week, a dance was held at her school. My wife drove her to dance before she went to spend the night at her parents' house as she is currently helpi”
“I'm hoping to get some insight on whether this is normal exploration of thought, or if my daughter may be expressing an unhealthy argumentative personality? My husband and our daughter get into debates often. It seems as though she feels as though they're discussing different perspectives. She doesn't get heated or upset, and I don't see anything disrespectful about it. Her father, however, *does* view it as arguing. He gets upset, feels disrespected, and think that she does it t”
“Jeezuz Christos of Later Day Saints, Help me. My once upon a time sweet and snuggable daughter is about to turn 11 and will have moments (many) of being completely insufferable. ATTITUDE. She wakes up pissed. After school is ticked. I was warned about pre tweens and puberty. Quick 411, amicable divorce for 3 years and we have 50% custody and alternate weeks. I have friends with 13 yr old daughters who say their girl wants absolutely nothing to do with him and I hope to not get to that state with”
“What's the move here fellas? Liberal household, non-weed-partaking adults (by lifestyle choice), but definitely not ok with this. And yet don't want to alienate the kid by coming down like a ton of bricks. submitted by /u/gc1 [link] [comments]”
“I'm a millennial parent of a 12- and 8-year-old. I was very involved in the parenting community back when my 12 yo was a wee little baby. The general consensus then was attachment parenting is best, education should be child-led, and you are an awful parent if you put any pressure on them to do something that's not their idea, especially if it's anything related to academics. You are a terrible parent if you potty train too early. You are a terrible parent if you try to teach kids to”
“My mom’s line was always some variation of “life isn’t fair. Someone’s always going be smarter, prettier, more popular than you, or they’re going to have something you don’t have, and that’s okay.” As a child, it was annoying and frustrating to hear, but it was true. I was able to recognize that things weren’t fair, and then, eventually, triage my feelings and either accept that something sucked a bit, or recognize a larger injustice. It also helped me to be able to discuss my feelings and not e”
“so, his ressearch that unlimited screen time and social media is bad for kids is..untrue???”
“I don't have kids but... Intuitively I would say you can only "change" your kids by "changing" yourself. Which is not exactly "changing" them any more or less than just shaping them the way they would always be shaped by living with you. Trying to "change" your kid while skipping the you part backfires, according to all my American sitcoms and shows, that is.”
“Like do these kids grow up to have more mental health issues, attachment issues as children, teens and young adults? Where is the evidence that it’s harmful? I submitted by /u/yellow_pellow [link] [comments]”
“Yeah. Sadly, people with the foresight to prevent unwanted pregnancies also have the foresight to prevent them mostly. People without the foresight for either…have more kids than they can handle.”
“Absolutely! When kids were kicked outside they at least had to use imagination, develop social skills to play with other kids, do some critical thinking. But with IPad/iphone kids the result is dopamine addicted brains incapable of problem solving or original thought, zero social skills, and the inability to self regulate through any emotion or difficulty!! Obviously this description is at the extreme end but across the board these are the things that I see on the rise.”
“Thanks for the comment. Sometimes people just think anything stressful, conflicting, or critical means there is something wrong with them and they are being attacked so they fight back. Also a very unpleasant experience.”
“I don't know if this is the right kind of reddit for this. My wife and I are expecting our first born. Her parents are chronic smokers who smoke in the house and do not show much consideration for people in the house. I've expressed beinf uncomfortable with the idea of bringing our new little one to their house due to this fact but have repeatedly receive backlash from my wife in their defense saying that they will either move to a different room or stand far away in the same room. This”
“Parents nowadays do not follow through with consequences in general. Many are lazy and frankly, afraid of their kids. If they are divorced, they blame the other parent’s home for lacking structure. They use trauma and diagnoses as an excuse for bad behavior. I’m a parent and my kids are in their 20’s. They went to suburban public school and I taught in urban public school back then. I can tell you now, suburban public school is worse than the inner city schools I taught in 20 years ago. Parents”
“My kid is newly 7. She is very smart and creative and neurodivergent, so she always has interesting and unique ideas about everything. We love her creativity and encourage her to explore it, but now we've had a bit of a problem pop up... My grandmother passed away last year. My mother and I were both very heavily impacted by this loss and my child had a lot of questions about loss and where Great Grandma went. My father is not religious, so I was given space to explore my own beliefs and hav”
“Good Evening everyone. Lately I’ve felt very down as a parent in recent days. I’ve realized a lot of this is because I had done a good job of being off of all social media and news and just focusing on my family. I got back on social media when our family dog was passing quickly out of nowhere, and I think I started using it as a coping mechanism in some way. My algorithm has been so doom and gloom, and I realize I need to get off of it. But I have a serious question: what keeps your mind positi”
“This is somewhat of a rant so apologies in advance. My daughter is just about 2 and is such a friendly, outgoing girl. We go out every day because she gets so bored in the house. The library, sing along, play centres, the park etc; she loves it all! However, as she gets older and more aware i’m starting to notice that kids are super unfriendly almost everywhere we go. I totally get that some kids are shy or have other limitations but it’s starting to feel really frustrating when we go out and sh”
“It sounds harsh to call your child a coward, but hear me out here…. My son is almost 9 years old and up until about 5ish he was almost always willing to try new things. Now, here we are today and we can barely get him to do anything! I feel like we’re constantly wasting money on things that he says he wants to try but then backs out of the last minute and it’s exhausting. I try so hard to keep things fun but all we’re doing right now is fighting and arguing every time we attempt things with him.”
“Maybe it's too soon to post this. We just had a baby girl 2 weeks ago. In general I have seen children, in my country, aged to 5-8 are very shy and don't talk to other people very openly as compared to children of other countries. I want to know what habbits or culture should I input in my child when she grows up. I want her to be confident and social. Apologies for the low effort post submitted by /u/Historical_Club_1174 [link] [comments]”
“Sending everyone a friendly reminder to tell your kids they can become anyone they want. Encourage them, build their self esteem and do so frequently. From: someone who was always told they weren’t going to be anybody. submitted by /u/Unlucky_Rock_1724 [link] [comments]”
“We put so much effort into raising our child to be kind, disciplined, respectful, and guided by strong values. We try to be intentional about what he watches and avoid exposing him to the endless stream of "brain rot" content that's so common online today. Then one day he comes home from daycare repeating something he picked up from another child. Many young children already have unrestricted access to phones and spend hours scrolling and those habits influence my child by seeing i”
“I have a 7 year old that never stops talking. It is actually insane. It is just word vomit 24/7. Otherwise behaviorally he is pretty good. He’s not violent, he’s kind to other kids etc. I just worry about sending a kid out into the world that is honestly pretty annoying for lack of a better word. I’m his own mom and I love him SO much, but I know if I struggle with his chatter and persistence it has to be extremely irritating to other adults he comes across. I don’t want to crush his spirits or”
“What is studied, does the scientists in the area represent a fair variety of the population? submitted by /u/Karakoima [link] [comments]”
“Need advice raising kids in the Bible Belt with religious grandparents and boundaries. My mother in law is a devout catholic. My husband was raised very strict catholic. When we met he was a pretend practicing catholic but had already developed lots of doubts. Catholic guilt didn’t allow him to speak up. I was raised christian. By the time we were 30 we were both atheist after going through the steps of being agnostic and then feeling comfortable enough to admit what we believe. Prior to getting”
“Hey everyone! I have 12 and 9 year old daughters and am looking for opinions. I’m not sure if this matters but for context, I had them fairly young (16 and 19) so I am strict but also lenient on some things that others maybe aren’t. One thing I don’t really care too much about is makeup. I do tell them to wash their face and not wear it overnight. I instill in them that they are beautiful without makeup but that makeup is a fun form of self-expression. My youngest daughter wears some a few days”
“My daughter is 15, and I’m becoming increasingly worried about the influence her friends have on her and about her lack of interest in anything related to her future. I want to make it clear that I have absolutely nothing against makeup, fashion, nails, social media, or taking care of your appearance. I enjoy many of those things myself. My concern is about balance . Most of the friends my daughter chooses seem mainly interested in being on their phones, social media, makeup, nails, fashion, and”
“I am breaking the vicious cycle. No child or children will suffer this nightmare world. I love my unborn son and daughter so much I don't want them coming to this hell. submitted by /u/JudgmentConsistent50 [link] [comments]”
“We still read every night with our girls. we love it and they seem to enjoy it. anyone still read to their kids as teens? submitted by /u/SixandNoQuarter [link] [comments]”
“what is it with the older generation and temu? My MIL is starting to buy toys for our daughter and I just hate the fact that its temu crap. its not safe, who knows where its made/ conditions. I'm all for secondhand and thrifting but temu is a big no for me. I don't take any of them home with us it all stays there but they are so crappy seriously afraid she will choke on something. my husband will be talking to her about this next week, its just so annoying and I hate temu. submitte”
“Just curious what others think about this topic. I'm very confident that I am raising a daughter that will be a whirlwind and so strong and independent. But there's a part of me that has the worst depression that I'm not going to get to experience life with my daughter later in her life (there's almost a 40 year difference.) submitted by /u/True-State-4321 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, My daughter (14) has been sleeping on our couch pretty much since the summer holidays have started. A little bit of context. Her room has been incredibly messy for years now; every single time we try to clean it together, it reverts to a complete shambles in maybe a week tops. This spring, she took to sleeping on the floor instead of her bed because it was covered in stuff, and recently, she's ended up on the couch. She's AuDHD (diagnosed), I should add, and tidying up has always”
“Will you pray for me? I have a lot of anxiety going back. Its more because August is a lot of change for my family- new nursery, my daughter has anxiety about going back, husband travelling for work, I have 6 classes to cover and I am in my third trimester.”
“When I was kid my mom brushed my teeth with dawn dish soap because I wouldn’t stop saying “shit.” My kids won’t stop name calling and nothing I’m doing seems to work so I’m considering going old school but it seems kind of…wrong? lol Has anyone had successful results with this or can anyone offer some advice on how to stop name calling? I have 4 year old twins. Fyi we don’t name-call in our house so they are saying things like “you scallywag! or “you baddie head!” This is 100% my fault for letti”
“How do you navigate your own cell phone use while also instilling the importance of limiting social media use and screen time to your kids? submitted by /u/Environmental_Text69 [link] [comments]”
“This may not come to a surprise to this sub, but I just love my children. I don't love them because they are my children but they are, at 8 and 12, funny and interesting people. Lord knows, they can make my life so very hard. I cooked a meal tonight that was restaurant quality (I ran one for 5 years and worked in them for 15, I know the difference). But they made me laugh so hard while cooking, it was hard to be mad that they wouldn't eat it. I bend over backwards cleaning after them (an”