83. Why millennial mums want a 90s childhood for their kids

Why are so many millennial mums trying to recreate the 90s childhood we remember for our own children?

We want them playing outside, getting bored, spending less time on screens and making simple memories that don’t need to be photographed or posted. But the childhood we’re nostalgic for wasn’t created solely by parents making better choices. It existed inside a completely different social structure.

In this episode, I explore:

• why millennial parents feel so nostalgic for a simpler childhood

• the pressure to recreate our memories for our own children

• how less surveillance and fewer frightening news stories gave children more freedom

• the role of neighbours, social housing, youth clubs and local community

• why sending children outside to play was often necessity rather than intentional parenting

• how work, childcare costs and school holidays make unstructured time difficult to create

• the pressure to manufacture magical childhood memories

• why technology is part of the change, but not the whole explanation

Our parents weren’t necessarily more present or intentional. They had phones, television and their own distractions too. But they were parenting within a world where children had greater independence and families often had more informal community around them.

There are valuable things we can carry forwards from a 90s childhood: less screen time, more outdoor play, ordinary family life and room for boredom. But we shouldn’t turn nostalgia into another impossible standard for modern mums.

The childhood we remember wasn’t created by one endlessly present mother. It was supported by the world around her.

👭 The Five Villages Every Mum Needsthis FREE audio guide will walk you through the different levels of support mums need, and how to build them. Get it here.

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