Posts Tagged "Social Trends"

As some of you may know, my son, CollegeBoy, is currently studying and working in China. In a previous post, I noted that while visiting him there earlier this year, I was struck by the paucity of children on the street — and that, to my mind, this illustrated the results of the country’s one-child policy. At the time, it was something of a jolt to realize that it was still very much in force in the 21st century. The policy, which has led to some forced abortions and sterilizations, has also resulted in millions of dollars in fines annually from those who violate the rule.

It turns out, according to the just-released Chinese census, that while the strictly enforced policy has proved highly effective in reducing China’s exploding population and helping to pull it out of poverty, it has had a potentially negative effect on the country’s future: There are now too many old people and not enough young ones to assure the country’s continued economic growth.  China’s traditional preference for boys also means the country now has about 120 males for every 100 females, and that by 2020 there could be as many as 24 million single young men with little opportunity to marry or have their own children.

Why is that relevant in the context of this blog?  Certainly, the subject fits within the first half of what this blog is all about — the social and marketing trends that impact moms. And as a mother living in a country that puts no restrictions on the number of children we are allowed to bear, I feel for those who don’t have that choice. It also, perhaps, says something about government interference in family planning. Lastly — and appropriately enough — I can’t helped but be reminded of, yes, that old Chinese saying: Be careful what you wish for.

Seems to me, for the past couple thousand years or so women have made do on their own with planning for the arrival of their babies. Yes, carving out just the right spot in the cave for a crib did take some doing, as did strapping the little ones securely to our backs for work in the fields. But, mostly, we managed, with nary a paid consultant in sight.

Now, it seems, we need help — in the form of a maternity concierge.

A new Bravo show, Pregnant in Heels, follows one such professional as she helps busy New York City moms plan for the coming of their first child.

The extreme personality of all reality show “stars” aside, is it really possible that some of these women can be so in the dark about what is involved in caring for a child — surprise, you do have to feed and clean up after them! — and need to hire a very expensive consultant to lead them?

Or is this the natural course of things, as we now live far from our families and spend so much of our time focused on work?

What do you think: Are baby planners the way of the future? Have you ever used one?  And what does our “need” for them say about our society?

Shared parenting? Ideal as the concept may sound, a recent study found that co-parenting often leads to conflict rather than cooperation. In other words, when dad steps up to help raise the kids, mom may not approve of his approach.

Ohio State researchers studied 112 Midwestern families with 4-year-olds, then looked at the families again a year later. The study found that when dad took responsibility for certain tasks, spouses often undermined each other’s parenting skills and techniques. According to Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, co-author of the study, “it’s hard to break out of more traditional  gender roles…when you have two parents highly invested in care giving, there’s an opportunity to step on each other’s toes.”

Moms, what’s your take on this? Are you guilty of criticizing how the man of the house does his fathering? And how do you  solve your disagreements?

Today’s New York Times ran a front-page story about how  college freshmen are feeling a record level of stress.  “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010″  surveyed more than 200,000 incoming full-time students, and the percentage rating themselves as below average in mental health rose over past years while those who said their emotional health was above average fell to 52% from 64% in 1985. Campus counselors say this is no surprise: They frequently see students who are depressed, under stress and even using psychiatric medication.

The economy has only added to the stress, both because of kids’ concerns about their parents’ financial scenarios but also due to their own college debt — more are having to take out loans –  and their job prospects upon graduation.

The findings are ironic in their timing, in a way, given the uproar recently over how Dragon Moms pressure their kids to succeeed. Even without such pressure, our kids feel stress. 

We’ve been fortunate with our college-age son who, bless him, has one of those “up” personalities and rarely seems bothered by much of anything. But next year, upon graduation, he will be joining the ranks of those looking for a full-time job. He’s a step ahead in many ways, due to a series of internships and his particular academic focus — but, who knows? If his job search hits a dead end, how can he not feel stressed?

What do you do, as parents, to help your kids through stressful situations?

We have several moms working in the office at Child’s Play Communications, and a recent post on the Wall Street Journal Digits blog generated a good chuckle around the water cooler last week.  The headline?  “Learning to Play Angry Birds before You Can Tie Your Shoes.”

As i-phones and i-pads have quickly become ubiquitous among urban families, it was just a matter of time before a study confirmed what most parents already knew – technology is shifting the way an entire generation of children learns.  The survey, released by AVG Technologies, found that while only 14% of kids ages 4 and 5 could tie their shoes, 21% could operate at least one smartphone app and 34% could open a Web browser.  And while 76% of the same children could play an online computer game, only 31% knew to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.

And there is no sign that our appetite for apps is cooling.  According to a recent article in the Boston Globe entitled “Apps Push Parents’ Buttons,” the app market will continue to boom.  “There are already more than 300,000 apps…. The number of downloads is expected to hit 76.9 billion worldwide in 2014,” wrote Beth Teitell.  “Exact figures on apps for children are hard to come by, but specialists expect the children’s market to grow with the rest of the field.”

So how much is too much of a good thing?  We love kids’ apps for their entertainment value and, to some degree, their educational virtues. But when kids become more adept at playing Angry Birds than mastering key developmental milestones, some of us are left wondering if this shift is more alarming than amusing.