How Different Is Parenting Today?

I’m not sure the world today is qualitatively different than it was when I was a child in the early 1960s, at least in any way that would make me a different parent than my parents were for me.

The values instilled in me were those I tried to instill into my kids.  Get a good education.  Be honest and kind.  Work hard.  Be alert to the fact that, although there are many good and intelligent people in the world, there is also plenty of stupidity, oppression, and dishonesty.  My grandfather added this one on top: make this world a better place than it was when you came into it.

The only real change is a quantitative one: the world today features more convenience and better health, but it’s far more ignorant and immoral.  Can you imagine how far Donald Trump would have gotten in a presidential race, as recently as 10 years ago?

Regardless, none of this stuff, at least in my eyes, militates towards a different approach to parenting.