Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
So you think the world of technology moves fast? Try entering the parenting game. In which not only do things move at hyperspeed, but everything MATTERS so much because you're building a person. Not having the latest iPhone may not ruin your life, but just try sitting at playgroup and confessing ignorance on BPA and you'll see what I mean.
Parenting trends change. FAST. And if you don't keep up, you end up feeling like the worst mom ev-ah. So let's catch up to 2011, shall we?
In: Slow Vaxxing. Rather than skipping vaccines entirely, an increasing number of parents have opted for a slowed down schedule, spacing out their child's life-saving shots over a longer period of time.
Out: Non Vaxxing. There are still some diehards, but since the study linking the MMR vaccine to autism has been completely debunked, the ranks have thinned considerably.In: My Baby's Tweeting from the Womb. Who says you have to have developed your fingers to type in a Tweet?
Out: OMG, the Internet predators are after my widdle snookums. Once upon a time talking to a parent about the Internet was like watching a Dateline special, you want to run home and lock your doors with all the fearmongering. Then they found Facebook, and the ability to stalk their own kids online.In: Squeezy Fruit. Who needs to spend 20 minutes cutting up apples and peeling the skin when it all comes in a pouch with a screw-on lid, and it's ORGANIC! Best invention . . . ever?
Out: Fresh Fruit. Still tastes good, but who has the time?In: Intactivism. Once it was a foregone conclusion. These days everyone's serious about the penis hood.
Out: Circumcision. Well, I mean, if you're Jewish, maybe . . .In: Home Birth. Blow up the pool, invite the neighbors, and let's get this baby out!
Out: Scheduling the C-section. Babies are not convenient. Birth shouldn't be either.In: Free-Range Parenting. The leashes are gone, and so are the kids. But they'll come back by dinner time. Just yell.
Out: Helicopter Parenting. What's that kid, you can't breathe because I'm smothering you with my lurv?In: Stay at Home Dads. Because mama can bring home the bacon too! As of 2009, labor statistics showed 7.4% of fathers in married-couple families with children under 18 were home.
Out: Stay at Home Moms. OK, so they're not out so much as less of a dominating force what with all the stay-at-home dads, work-at-home moms, work-out-of-the-home moms, etc. In 2008, there were 5.3 million stay-at-home-moms according to the US Census Bureau. It was down to 5.1 million by 2008, and down to 5 million even in 2010.In: Multiples. Technology has allowed for more fertility treatments, which in turn has increased the chances a mom will give birth to more than one child at a time. In 2008, twins accounted for 32.6 out of every 1,000 births -- the highest on record.
Out: Big Families. Be it the constraints of the economy or couples deciding to start a family later and hence finding themselves with less time to add to their brood, the number of kids the average family will have is on the way down. These days 2 is more or less average.In: Play-Based Preschool. Turns out cutting out the play-time was making our kids fat, boring, and terrified of taking risks. These days kids have a bit more time to be KIDS.
Out: Babies Reading the Dictionary. Take all those flash cards and dump them in the trash. You'll thank yourself later.What trends are you seeing in your neck of the woods? Any you'd like to see disappear soon?
Image via photon.de/Flickr
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
