"Nothing brings people together like a good meme. Especially when it hilariously captures a parenting truth so many of us can relate to: today’s gentle parenting versus our parents’ boomer parenting. By the time I saw Taylor Wolfe of @thedailytay‘s reel comparing the two parenting styles, our entire team at The Everymom had seen it, shared it, or received it. “My sister sent that to my fam saying it’s my mom and me haha,” said our CEO and cofounder Alaina Kaz. “I sent this to my mom bc this is as if they recorded my mom and sister,” said our senior sales manager Megan Kemp. “Haha my SIL sent this to me this morning,” shared editorial intern Patty Schepel.
In the two days since Wolfe posted her video about teaching her boomer mom about millennial parenting, it has been viewed a whopping 20+ million times, has been shared 900K+ times, and has over 600K likes. Why did this one hit the comparison of millennial gentle parenting and boomer parenting so perfectly? Well, not only is Wolfe among the best (and hilarious) creators on the worldwide web, but she also featured her boomer mom, Sandy. And the juxtaposition of the two women might just be the most relatable thing you’ll see today.
“Teaching My Boomer Mom About Millennial Parenting”
Wolfe, a mom of two, follows her mom through typical daily parenting moments—at the playground, in the playroom, and leaving the house. We watch the two struggle to understand each other as Wolfe guides her mom on what to say—and what not to say—to her kids to follow a gentle parenting style.
The Video’s Gentle Parenting Translations for Boomers
Somehow this video captures my daily inner monologue as I try to say the “right” thing. My intuition usually leans more toward boomer. But then, every article or post I’ve ever read scrolls through my mind, and I try to use the millennial translation. Do these run through your head, too?
Boomer: “Be careful”
Millennial: “What’s your plan here?”
Boomer: “Stop hitting your sister”
Millennial: “Gentle hands”
Boomer: “I’m so proud of you”
Millennial: “You should be so proud”
Boomer: “Good job”
Millennial: “Good choice”
Boomer: “We gotta go.”
Millennial: Rushing them will give them anxiety.
Boomer: “Watch out”
Millennial: “Do you feel safe here?
Gentle Parenting vs. Boomer Parenting
It’s no secret parents today are overloaded with information on how to “do parenting right.” Many have adopted a gentle parenting style—an approach that puts a child’s emotional development front and center. While our boomer moms might have read the occasional magazine article or called their friends from the home landline for advice, they didn’t have expert research and influencers’ best parenting hacks in the palm of their hand (not to mention, it’s laughable to even imagine my Boomer dad picking up a parenting magazine).
Boomers were able to trust their intuition more without fear of judgment or constant comparison. Not that they always had it right. “My mom is peak alarmist. ‘You are going to fall and break your head open,’” shared our director of brand partnerships Alexandra Wolf.
A commenter on Wolfe’s video, @luvberger, asked, “Since when did boomer parents say things like, ‘I’m so proud of you.” With one reply saying, “When they became grandparents lol.”
Should We Try Parenting More Like Boomers?
Now that we’re the parents, many of us are trying to correct our parents’ “mistakes” with our kids. And while we all have the very best intentions, sometimes it takes putting a mirror up to ourselves to laugh at some of the overcorrection. Some of the comments on Wolfe’s video point out what our Boomer parents might just have gotten right:
“I read the same article and we didn’t tell our kids we were proud of them for a long time, we said ‘that’s so impressive!’ or something like that. Then…my tween said, ‘well you never even tell me you’re proud of me’ OMG I felt so bad…Now I tell them all the time that I’m proud of them! They need it and like to hear it!” wrote @rachelwilloww.
“I’m all for gentle parenting but honestly I feel like the world is not a gentle place and sometimes we gotta be a little bit boomer mom with these kids…otherwise they’re gonna be in for a really rude awakening when they go out into the world,” commented @namaste_time_out.
“I started millennial by the 3rd kid I’m a boomer, “ wrote @leiteletemari.
Additionally, the comment section loves Wolfe’s mom Sandy (who you can follow here!). They want her merch and even to have her as their mom. But what seemed to bring everyone together—including millennial and boomer parents—was Sandy’s last line: “I don’t feel safe about any of this s*it.”
Kathy Sisson, Senior Editor
A mom of two, Kathy is passionately committed to sharing the honest, helpful—and often humorous—stories of motherhood, as she navigates her own everyday adventures of work, marriage, and parenting. She honed her creative and strategic skills at advertising agencies in Detroit and Chicago, before pivoting from marketing to editorial. Now instead of telling brand stories, she’s sharing her own, with articles published across popular parenting sites—including hundreds of stories on The Everymom.