How Parenting Advice Has Changed Over the Last 125 Years

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

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7d ago 43:16

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Is parenting today genuinely more difficult—or are we just overthinking it? Amy and Margaret explore the evolution of parenting over the last 125 years, tracing shifts from the rigid, hierarchical households of the early 1900s to today’s emotionally intense, overanalyzed parenting culture.

These trends beg the question: What’s the real cost of trying to "optimize” every moment of our children's lives?

In this episode:

How parenting norms have changed since 1894
The impact of attachment theory and the rise of “gentle parenting”
The shift from communal to isolated parenting and why it matters
Why parents today feel so much more pressure to “get it right”
How technology and information overload affect modern family dynamics
What we might be missing by focusing too much on doing everything perfectly

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

JM Finn: Changing Attitudes in Parenting Over the Last 150 years

Conscious Mommy: Parenting Styles and their Evolution: Old, New, Recent Studies and Recommendations

Claire Cain Miller for the NYT: How Parenting Today Is Different, and Harder

Elizabeth Tenety for Motherly: Why parenting in 2025 feels much harder than it did in the ‘90s—this mom’s take hits home

Our Fresh Take with Nancy Reddy, author of THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH

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