How Today’s Parenting Choices Are Shaping the Next Generation

Generation Beta may be taking its first steps into the world, but for now, all eyes should be on the trailblazers before them: Generation Alpha and young Gen Zers. Mostly the children of millennials, today’s kids are growing up at the crossroads of rapid technological change and shifting cultural norms into a world that looks nothing like the one their parents knew.

Though they’re still young, the choices parents make today are already shaping the tastes, values, and habits of the next generation. What parents want for their children, both now and in the years ahead, will tell us a lot about the future for today’s youth.

An active social life will be a priority for young Zoomers and Alphas 

Children look to their parents as they’re growing up to learn all sorts of things — from little lessons like how to tie their shoes to bigger, lifelong ones like how to prioritize their time and energy. And while of course kids are driven by their own free will as they get older, the latter is heavily influenced by what parents impress upon them when they’re young. To that end, the thing parents are most likely to say is “essential” for their kids is friendship – nearly one-third (32%) say it’s essential for their children to have friends their age, while 37% say it’s “very important.” Notably, this resonates more than time with extended family. That’s not to say blood ties won’t be important, but as children of mostly millennials, who ushered in the concept of “framily,” leaning on friends while they live far from their actual relatives, children today are being raised to prioritize friendship and socialization.

Parents are also instilling the importance of scheduling and hobbies in their kids. More than three-quarters (78%) of parents say their kids are involved in some sort of extracurricular such as sports or the arts. One potential outcome of this approach is that children will grow up expecting to have packed calendars, and unable to deal with boredom — a refrain that’s commonly seen in parenting communities across social media. Though if the past summer’s popularity of creating a “90s summer” for kids free of excessive activities and overscheduled days persists, kids may grow to embrace the slower-paced approach.

Today's kids will grow to be financially conservative adults

Children may not be earning their own salaries yet, but they’re certainly learning about money and likely already forming some early financial habits. From a macro perspective, today’s youth  are coming of age during a period of financial uncertainty — from the pandemic-driven downturn and record inflation to current tariff turmoil, they’ve already experienced an economic roller coaster. 

Closer to home, parents are specifically saying they feel the financial pinch. More than one-quarter (26%) of parents with kids under 18 say having children has put “a lot” of financial strain on them, and more than two-thirds (67%) say they feel at least “some” strain. While the financial impacts of young kids such as day care costs are already present, parents are also concerned about the future, with 46% saying they’re worried about affording college for their kids.

That’s not to say that kids truly understand what’s happening in the broader economy or with their parents’ finances, but it will certainly influence the way they think about money and spending, and likely result in a financially conservative generation. This combination of factors will also likely reinforce the focus on having a good job when they reach adulthood — something their parents are also prioritizing as the most important thing for their kids when they grow up.

Kids won’t be on their own to navigate their future finances, their parents expect to provide some sort of financial cushion for them. Perhaps inspired by their own experiences and parents’ help (or lack thereof), a majority of parents expect to help their kids with things like rent, expenses, tuition, and housing even after they become adults. 

Gentle parenting will yield emotionally-aware adults 

Parenting styles may come and go, but the ones that are en vogue during the early years of a child’s life may have lasting impacts. The most commonly-used parenting style right now is “gentle parenting,” an approach which prioritizes connection between parents and children, identifying emotional drivers rather than punishments as a means to correct behaviors. While the style certainly has its detractors, with some positing that it is resulting in a generation who can’t handle negative feedback or discipline, it’s clearly resonating — nearly 3 in 10 parents say they use this approach with their children.

However, it’s also true that the pendulum tends to swing in terms of parenting styles: children who were raised in strict households tend to go on to be more lenient parents, and vice versa. This is clear by the difference in how parents say they are raising their children versus how their parents did so. Notably, while parents say they were raised in stricter households under an authoritative or authoritarian approach, many have swung more towards gentle parenting or even no particular style or label at all.

What this suggests is that, despite growing up in more lenient, emotionally-led households, kids will grow to become more strict parents themselves. That doesn’t mean a return to authoritarian parenting though, as they may take more of an authoritative approach focused on high expectations of their future children, but balancing emotional awareness at the same time.