History of Popular Culture—Week 5, Assignment 3
How has the socio-political climate with regard to children changed from that of the previous generation?
Movies such as About a Boy and Big Daddy show a resurgence in the importance of children in parents’ lives and a renewed parental interest in participating in their childrens’ lives. These films emphasize the simple values that children have to teach if adults are simply willing to learn from them.
John Rosemond, a successful family psychologist and author, says that childrens’ keen sense of right and wrong is often a stark contrast to today’s society. In a June 2006 interview, ArcaMax Publishing’s Publishing Editor Hugh Spain quotes Rosemond as saying, “Children are simple, they are not complicated. But we have made something that’s simple into something that is complicated. We have made a process that is not through the heart but something that is now done through the head.”
Into what type of environment were Millennial babies born?
In the family, Millennial children were born into a culture rebounding from the liberality of the 1970s. 80s parents were often hippies recovering from the freedom and abandon they had exercised in the previous decade, leaving that lifestyle behind in favor of raising their children. They left their social and political views favoring reform and progress in favor of more conservative values, placing an emphasis on the family and home life.
Politically, Millennials were born into the years when Ronald Reagan was president. His platform of smaller government and lower taxes was in large part successful. Reagan intentionally withdrew federal government interference and allowed free market society govern the nation’s economy. It was a time when businesses thrived, and, much like the 1920s, so did the stock market. As a result, many Millennial children grew to become the entrepreneurs of the dotcom era of the late 1990s.
Do you think this change had any affect on the collective personality of Millennial babies? How and why?
Yes, the effects of involved parents in childrens’ lives will always be profound, and whether that involvement is position or negative will equally affect the children positively or negatively. In my perception, Millennial kids were very confident individuals, sure of their talents and abilities. They were raised to know their own limits while at the same time pushing the boundaries of possibility. This, along with a thriving economy, is why the entrepreneurial spirit was and is so high among this group.
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