Yahoo News | bleuwater

Parenting in the 2000’s.

I ran across a hilarious video on Yahoo News. Here’s a link to the video which pokes fun at moms from different generations–the 1980’s mom versus a mom today. The video has more than 6 million views: 1980’s Mom Vs. 2019 Mom: Summer Edition.

According to the article by Catherine Santino called “Hilarious Video Compares Parenting During Summer in 80s vs. Today and It’s So Accurate” parents have changed through the years. Although I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, we were outside a lot in the summer. Mom dropped us off at the pool and didn’t pick us up until the end of the day! We were unsupervised for our entire lives, it seemed. If we weren’t at the pool, we were tramping through the woods with machetes, making forts and clearing trails. Or, we were riding on country roads for miles and miles on our bikes. Here’s an excerpt from the Yahoo News article:

Before the age of parenting blogs, summertime was a lot simpler for families. Kids roamed free in their neighborhood streets, pool safety was lax, and no one judged a momwho only remembered to slather their children in sunscreen once a day. But in 2019, parents have become substantially more…involved. Meredith Masony of That’s Inappropriate recently shared a video comparing summer moms in the 1980s versus today, and the result is hilariously on point.

In the clip shared to the That’s Inappropriate Facebook page, Masony portrays the 80s mom who feeds her kids Pop-Tarts for breakfast, gives out ice pops like they’re going out of style, and insists that baby oil is far superior to sunscreen. The video then cuts between Masony and Tiffany Jenkins (of Juggling the Jenkins), who represents the hyperaware, health-conscious moms of today.

“I’ve been reviewing all of the sunscreens and it looks like SPF 1,000 is gonna be our safest bet,” she says while slathered in lotions. Later, she announces it’s “essential oil time”, which will, of course, be followed by a sound bath. Meanwhile, Masony’s character barely knows where her kids are.

I was closer to the 2019 mom, without the essential oils and ostrich milk! I let my kids eat a lot of mac and cheese and Goldfish crackers — and Pop Tarts. I tgot them out of the house to the park, beach and pool. They did have a lot of “unsupervised time” although I was close by at all times! I remember them riding their bikes or walking to the park without me when they got older and I was ready for an anxiety attack.

When they were in high school and we were at the beach in the summer, they started having bonfires at night with their friends, without me. That was tough — because there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting around a campfire at night at the beach. I was thrilled they wanted to share the tradition with their friends, but heartbroken to not be included.