Narcissists, detached, violent, self centered, environmentally and socially unconcerned, and conceited – that’s how millennial children tend to be defined, mostly. While most of these are over generalizations and myths at best, it remains a challenge for society, and parents particularly, to understand, assimilate, and coexist with this new breed. Let’s discuss a few ideas that can help parents deal with millennial kids.

Understand The Differentiator - Technology

Put simply, any individual who attains young adulthood in the 21st century is a millennial. Why are millennial children the point of focus now? Well, that’s because they’ve been born in an era where technology has changed the way humans live. Is it any surprise that technology literally rules the everyday lives of the millennial kids? As a parent, you’d do well to control the dependence of your children on technology.

Encourage Open Communication

It is vital for parents to harmonize with the millennial trends, like having an unorthodox perspective and adopting broad-mindedness to better equip themselves to cope with the dynamic changes setting in due to the millennial lifestyle. So instead of turning a blind eye towards the rapid influences brought in by this kind of living, it is more practical to embrace the changing ideas about sensitive matters like stereotypical marriages and gender equity. Encourage open communication; mentor your kids on the right phases of life to consume information on matters of sexuality, religion, and society.

Technology Detox

Parents have to walk the path and set an example rather than dishing out advices and forcing rules on ‘being off the screen’ on millennial children. Instead of entirely abolishing technology use at a go, take baby steps towards reducing the screen usage. For example, parents and their children, together, can follow a rule of not using their phones or watching television during meal times.

Be it at home or outside. Parents themselves, need to adopt certain lifestyle changes that involve less usage of technology. The daily lifestyle of parents will greatly influence the upbringing of their children. Parents can completely avoid using their phones or any other electronic gadget around children. This will make their children feel more loved and connected to their parents.

Define And Set Boundaries

It is no surprise that the millennial kids are suffering from various mental issues like depression, low attention span etc. Not just children, even parents cannot stop themselves from checking their emails or turning to their phone screen every other minute. A survey conducted by The American Psychological Association and Harris Interactive revealed stress levels of 5.4 out of 10 among millennials (3.4 is considered healthy stress).

Parents can set certain limits on phone usage and adhere to the rules so their children follow suit and do the same. A little bit of self-discipline and self-control like avoiding usage of electronic devices in the night will go a long way in setting a healthy example for your millennial children.

Foster Compassion

Every child withholds the spark of love, compassion and sensitivity within him/her. Issues like narcissism can be dealt with empathy when you encourage your kids to open their hearts to others and bring to light the fact that the world does not revolve around just them. Encourage your children to share their resources, technology especially, with the less privileged ones. Not only does this foster empathy, but it also allows your children to widen their perspective on life by caring for others. Parents can pay a visit to the NGOs once in a week and engage in activities that help the underprivileged. Your children are bound to feel proud about themselves. Involve yourself and your children in more socially engaging activities.

Final Thoughts

What the world desperately needs now, is compassion and love. And with judicious use of technology and adopting healthy patterns of upbringing, we can make the world a better place to live in. Trust these options to help you parent your kids better, and transform them into responsible, capable, well informed, and stable millennials.