Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Therapist Calls Out Millennial And Boomer Parents—And Each Generation's Reactions Are So Telling

Screenshots from Stephanie Lindeman's TikTok videos
@stephanne221/TikTok

Family therapist and TikToker Stephanie Lindeman didn't realize she'd conducted a social experiment until after reading how Millennial parents responded to criticism versus Boomer parents.

Try as they might, no parent is going to be a perfect parent 100% of the time.

The difference is the accountability a parent takes when it's pointed out to them that they have messed up.


In a series of videos, Steph the Attachment Therapist on TikTok recently offered feedback to Millennial and Boomer parents, pointing out the key behavior that could impact their relationships with their children.

And the reactions to these videos were nothing short of eye-opening.

In the first video, Steph specifically addressed Millennial parents and the key behavior she believed would "f**k up their kids."

Being the generation that grew up alongside the rise of the internet and cellphones and the dawn of social media like MySpace and Facebook, it stands to reason that a key concern for parents in this generation would be spending too much time on their phones.

The attachment therapist pointed out that children of these parents would more likely have to fight harder for attention but would likely lose to the parent's screen time, which would send the message that they were not a top priority.

You can watch the Millennial parenting video here:

@stephanne221

Parenting psychology 101: what signals are you sending your children? Signals of attunement, or rejection? It’s natural to accidentally send signals of rejection, what’s critical is the ability to attune, validate, and repair. Also, this experiment was btwn a mom and a daughter so i focus on the mom-daughter caregiving bond, but this dynamic can be present for any caregiver-carereciever relationship. #mom #parentingtips #parenting #relationships #relationship #family #millennial #millennialmom #childhood #childhoodtrauma #generationaltrauma #psychology #attachment #attachmentstyle #therapy #therapytiktok #therapytok #mentalhealth #fyp #foryou #foryoupage

Heartwarmingly, most Millennial parents commented on the video to take accountability and seeking ways to do better.

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

Pleased with how this video went over, Steph recorded a follow-up video, this time focusing on Boomer parents.

According to Steph, Millennial parents are likely to have distant moments with their kids because of their attachment to technology, whereas Boomer parents are likely to distance themselves from their kids because of their lack of accountability.

It's a frequent feature in the parent-child dynamic for a child to try to voice their emotions only to be shut down by their Boomer parent, with the parent deflecting their behaviors back onto their child and blaming the child for their actions. This often leads these now adult children to not emotionally share with their parents, or to even go fully no contact with them.

You can watch the Boomer parenting video here:

@stephanne221

Accountability matters and can heal relationships. If youre a parent who is serious about improving your relationship with your children, this is for you! #parentingtips #parenting #relationships #relationship #family #boomer #childhood #childhoodtrauma #psychology #therapy #attachmentstyle #millennial #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #conflict #communication #healing #kids #okboomer #mentalhealth #therapy #therapytok

True to the video, the Boomers in the comments deflected their behavior and did not take accountability.

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

After seeing the comments, Steph had to come back and do a video on the accidental "social experiment" she'd conducted in the comments sections of these videos.

Millennials have become known as the generation that wants to pursue therapy for self-improvement and to break generational curses, while Boomers are often seen as a generation of narcissists, because of their habits of deflecting their behaviors onto other people and otherwise calling younger people "snowflakes" for trying to do better.

It's unfortunate to see this because when the Millennial parents used Steph's video as a tool to improve their parenting, the Boomer parents just acted as examples of what Steph was talking about in her Boomer video.

After Steph posted the "social experiment" video, most of the Boomer comments in the earlier video were deleted, but she was able to screenshot some in her video.

You can watch her video about the accidental "social experiment" here:

@stephanne221

So believe it or not, i accidentally gave both millennial parents and boomer parents feedback on how they injure their children, and wowow the results say a lot 🤯😳😳 #millennial #millennialsoftiktok #millennialmom #mom #parenting #parentingtips #kids #parenting101 #psychology #socialexperiment #boomer #boomerparents #socialexperiment #therapy #therapytiktok #mentalhealth #family #communication #healing #relationships #relationship #fyp #foryou #foryourpagе

All parents are going to mess up from time to time because they're human, and that is okay.

Again, the difference is that they do what they can to correct the mistake and take accountability for their actions.

Children who see their parents be human and accountable are more likely to stay in those relationships, rather than feel like they are responsible for their parents' behavior and feelings.

Definitely some food for thought.

More from Trending

A dark haired woman looks into her phone in disbelief. She is sitting at a wooden table in a dimly lit room.
Photo by Michael Heise on Unsplash

Events That Divided People's Lives into 'Before' And 'After'

Life can be so cruel sometimes.

Everything you know and depend on can change in a matter of seconds.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Divulge The Most Insulting 'Benefit' Their Job Offered Them

Finding a job seems to be harder than ever, but even with our struggles to find a job, we still have to have some standards.

While purusing job descriptions, we have to take into consideration how our skills and work history will contribute to the position, but we also have to think about what the company has to offer us, including benefits.

Keep ReadingShow less
Duolingo owl mascot; RedNote logo on a smartphone screen against TikTok logo on computer screen
@duolingo/Instagram, Photo Illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Duolingo Has Hilarious Reaction To TikTok Users Learning Mandarin To Join Chinese App

Duolingo shaded social media users when the language app saw a spike in TikTok users' sudden interest in learning Mandarin to maximize their engagement on RedNote, a newer short-form video app from China natively known as Xiaohongshu.

The mass exodus to RedNote, China's answer to Instagram, comes in advance of the potential ban of TikTok in the U.S. prompted by increased national security concerns about users' data being compromised and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Coca-Cola logo; Donald Trump
Coca Cola; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Coca-Cola Blasted After Honoring Trump With Personalized Diet Coke Bottle For His Inauguration

The Coca-Cola company was widely criticized after James Quincey, its Chairman and CEO, presented President-elect Donald Trump with a Diet Coke bottle commemorating his upcoming inauguration.

The label on the bottle displayed Trump’s name, the date of his anticipated second inauguration, and an image of the White House. Trump is known to be a big fan of Diet Coke—he reportedly drinks 12 bottles per day—and he had an Oval Office button that aided in the delivery of the soda during his first presidency.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shot of a live action Elsa from "Frozen" dancing and singing with her eyes closed.
Photo by Lydia Turner on Unsplash

The Absolute Stupidest Things Disney Princesses Have Done In Their Films

Nobody is perfect, especially a movie princess.

In fact, most movie Princesses are a hot HOT mess.

Keep ReadingShow less