Survey reveals 7 things Gen Z moms worry about more than millennial moms

Time of India

2 days ago

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If there is one kind of influencer being criticised more than male beauty and fashion influencers, it's mom influencers. Every step these women take in their journey of motherhood goes viral, but for all the wrong reasons.
While every mom struggles in parenting, Gen Z moms are finding the process harder than their older counterparts, millennial moms.
A survey by Columbia University and the University of Michigan tracked nearly 200,000 mothers from 2016 to 2023 and found some startling revelations. While in 2016, 1 in 20 mothers rated their mental health as "poor", the number increased to 1 in 12 by 2023. While isolation due to the pandemic was a contributing factor, the researchers found that long-standing problems such as unequal workload between moms and dads, lack of parental leave, economic uncertainty and escalating costs were the main contributors to the declining mental health of mothers.
The pressure to be the "perfect" parent, a concept that does not even exist IRL, is felt by 83% of Gen Z moms, compared to 77% of millennials. The survey conducted by parenting website What To Expect revealed 7 areas where Gen Z moms stress out more than millennial ones.
Keeping kids busy
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48% Gen Z moms face the pressure of keeping their kids occupied with interesting activities, as compared to 34% millennial moms. Rather than letting them sit alone and explore their surroundings, how and when they want, moms are constantly on the lookout for tasks that can stimulate their kids mentally and physically.
Keeping kids free
Maintaining the children's time table to slot in free time where they will be able to perform these tasks is also a concern, stressing out 39% of Gen Z moms and 30% of millennial ones.
Managing the planning and coordination for the family
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This is one among the many workloads that are handled by moms alone. Not only managing the house and the kids, but they also need to coordinate ten other tasks throughout the day and keep the family running smoothly. Here as well, Gen Z moms are pressurised by 51% and millennial moms by 42%.
Technology-free time
While understanding and excelling at all things technology has become vital for the kids of this time, it is also important to ensure that it doesn't become their world. Surprisingly, for being tech-savvy themselves, Gen-Z moms want to ensure tech-free time for their kids 50% more than millennials, who worry about it 41%.
Children exploring their own identity
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Rather than introducing them to cultural, societal or religious norms in childhood, millennial moms are all for letting their young ones explore their own identity.
However, ahead of them are the Gen Z moms who feel the pressure 53% more intensely than 45% of millennial moms.
Prioritizing themselves
Among everything under the sun that a mom does in a day, taking out time for herself feels like a distant dream. However, it seems millennial moms are better at setting boundaries for themselves, as they worry about it 33% when compared to 31% Gen Z moms.
Teaching kids to adapt to setbacks and difficulties
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Raising adaptable and resilient kids is a need these days. However, nearly two-thirds of Gen-Z moms worry about letting their kids explore struggle and difficulties in life to make them stronger, versus 58% of millennial moms.