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Millennial mom shares the 'one big' problem boomer grandparents refuse to get over

It's been a long time since they were parents.

via via Canva/Photos

A frustrated mother holding her baby and her boomer parents.

A lot has changed since the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, when baby boomers raised their children. Back in the day, it was totally fine for babies to sleep on their stomachs, kids to ride without safety belts, people to smoke in the presence of children, and physical punishment was widely accepted. However, over the past 40 or so years, a significant amount of research has been conducted on child rearing and safety, so millennial parents do things differently than their baby boomer parents.

The problem is that now that these baby boomer parents are grandparents, they may not be up to date on the best way to feed a baby or to understand how to manage screen time. Good grandparents allow their children to take the lead when it comes to how they want their kids treated; however, many baby boomers think they know best and won’t be told otherwise.

Paige Connell, (@sheisapaigeturner), a working mom of four and a popular social media personality who discusses the mental load of being a mom and advocates for equality in relationships, addressed the issue with boomer grandparents on TikTok. “It's so strange being a millennial parent with boomers who are now grandparents to your children. Because we all want them to have this, like, really close, loving relationship, but struggle for so many reasons,” she opens her video.

@sheisapaigeturner

This is a PSA for Boomer grandparents. If you value time and closeness with your kids and grandkids, I highly recommend that you learn what their boundaries are around parenting, and respect them respecting your children as they become parents goes a very long way for your relationship. ##boomergrandparents##boomerparents##boomervsmillennial##millennialmoms##boundarysetting##grandparentsoftiktok##momof4kids ##parentingstyle

“I think one of the biggest reasons is just the blatant disregard for any parenting decisions we make, and so this can look so many different ways, I think it starts when they're born, right,” Connell continued. Connell then cited a situation where a friend told her boomer mother to stop piling blankets onto her sleeping newborn baby, but she refused to stop. The friend had to tell her mother to go home because it was dangerous to have her around the child.

boomer couple, married boomers, middle-aged people, happy couple, smiling couple 60sA happy couple in their 60s.via Canva/Photos

According to the Sleep Foundation, babies should not sleep with loose blankets until they reach 12 months of age to avoid accidental suffocation. “So, it starts the second we come home from the hospital with our babies that we are hearing, ‘Well, this is how I did it, this is how it used to be.’ Instead of ‘Wow, I didn't realise it was such a risk to small children to have a blanket in their crib, I will make sure never to do that,” Connell says.

Connell’s post resonated with many parents her age who want to be respected by their parents. “Boomers are mad that we don’t look to them as the epitome of knowledge now that we have access to information through research and the internet,” Imabot wrote. “Drives me wild. They care more about not 'being wrong' than the baby's safety,” Chrissy added. “What we’re asking for is emotional maturity and emotional intelligence from our boomer parents, and they are utterly incapable of it. Always have been,” Cheugybuggy added.

boomer couple, married boomers, middle-aged people, happy couple, smiling couple 60sA happy couple in their 60s.via Canva/Photos

Ultimately, Connell just wants her boomer parents to cooperate with her while helping out with the kids, rather than trying to parent her or teach her how to do things using outdated ideas. It’s okay to give your input, but most of the time, all parents really want is help. “I don't think it should be hard for grandparents to show up and say, ‘What do you want them to eat? Do you cut their food? If you cut their food, how do you cut their food? Great, I'm gonna do that thing,’” Connell says.

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Parenting

Confused Boomer grandparents don't get 'Bluey.' 15 fans and parents set them straight.

"My mom finally is getting that Bluey is a girl even though 'she’s blue'. So that’s good."

Image via Wikipedia/Canva

Parents explain why Boomer grandparents are not Bluey fans.

Australian kids cartoon show Bluey has found a loyal audience in kids and adults alike. Although Bluey was created for kids ages five to seven, it has connected with Gen Z and Millennial parents (as well as childless adults, young adults, and teens) who claim it has helped them heal their inner child.

But the beloved animated show seems to fall short among one demographic: Boomer grandparents. In a discussion among dads in r/Daddit, one impassioned parent posed the question: "How do other grandparents feel about Bluey?"

He explains his family's dynamic, and how his kids' grandparents seem to not fully 'get it.' "I know bandit is our guiding light and that the show gives our generation everything we felt we lacked in our childhood, but was curious to find it didn’t have the same affect on my parents. One of the kids’ grandmas refuses to acknowledge emotion in the show. During emotional bits she would say things like, 'that’s a nice looking plant'," he writes. "Other grandma watched the first two episodes and thinks the show promotes bad behavior - mostly how mean they are to bandit. Granddads don’t really participate in that kind of 'play' with the kids. How does your older generation feel about the show?"

In response, 15 Bluey fans and parents expressed their funny and relatable thoughts on why the show misses the mark with grandparents.

1. "My mom finally is getting that bluey is a girl even though 'she’s blue'. So that’s good." – guitarguywh89

2. "My mum thought it was ageist because of the kids playing grannies lol." – th3whistler

3. "I often wonder how many of the people who 'don't like Bluey' are just being insecure about how they parent/have parented. I mean, there are probably some people who legit just don’t enjoy it, but I mean c‘mon its like the sweetest show ever." – nolte100

Bluey, blue and bingo, kids show, cartoon, kidsWave Hello GIF by BlueyGiphy

4. "The in-laws who all they ever wanted was grandkids don’t understand Bluey and many of the other shows. They always comment on how kids don’t behave like they used to. Then we have to remind them we would be in jail if we smacked around kids like they used to so it was easy to have kids that abide. Teaching versus being scared is much tougher. I take it, it is their insecurity that they don’t follow Bluey and Daniel Tiger, and particularly my MIL takes it as disrespecting how they did things. We just remind them the world has changed and what they wanted in the end was for their kids to be better off than they were. Isn’t that goal of everything, be it monetarily, physically, mentally, and especially in their health." – We-Going-Sizzler

5. "I love bluey and I try to emulate bandit as much as possible. My boomer parents have literally said that they don’t understand the show. They are completely out of touch. Gentle parenting is not even on their radar. It actually makes sense tho. Kinda sad." – peaceloveandapostacy

6. "Yeahhh my parents were just scratching their heads over 'Duck Cake.' Like the hyper authoritarian 'ohhh she’d be cleaning up her mess in THIS house! Hurr durr' like they did not get that the point is to make your kids understand that it is inherently good to help others (and makes us feel good too!). Nope! Not enough discipline. Explains a lot about them, actually." – Altruistic-Ratio6690

Bluey, Bandit, life lessons, parenting, kids showFathers Day Hug GIF by BlueyGiphy

7. "My parents are from the former Soviet Union. They think all children's programming is hot garbage if its not old school Russian cartoons from 80's or older. Only exception is Masha and the Bear. As others have said, they are not the demographic and luckily for our kiddos, we like the show, so that's all that matters." – St33lB3rz3rk3r

8. "My dad really struggled with the play bits. We watched the first episode with him (with the xylophone) and he just couldn’t parse that the xylophone wasnt magic and that it was all make believe. I think he just couldn’t wrap his head around a kids show that was just about kids playing and not something more fantastical. Which makes sense when compared to the 80s/90s cartoons we watched. That said if his little princesses like it he’s in lol." – DeliriousPrecarious

9. "A lot of the older generation got warped on harsh discipline and my way of the highway nonsense. The show may not translate for them, but they’re not the demographic." – AsItIs


Bluey, Blue balloon, parade, parents, kids, popular showMacys Parade Bluey GIF by The 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Giphy

10. "In a way, the show is actually a bit of an indictment on their way of parenting. Since, ya know, it models opposite behavior." – defnotajournalist

11. "My wife's mother feels that the show promotes 'cheekiness'? She's apparently not a fan." – Belerophon17

12. "Grandma doesn't like it because 'the kids are too sassy, do you want your daughter to sass you like that?' Yes, Mom, I do. Grandpa doesn't like it because he thinks it's 'sexist against men'. Ok boomer." – stravadarius


Bluey, blue kids, play, kids show, cartoon, parenting Scared Oh No GIF by Bluey Giphy

13. "Sounds like the grandparents are pretty much making the point. The boomers left a lot to be desired as parents, stewards of the world, and now as elder statespeople. Let's do better. I know Bandit would." – PhishGreenLantern

14. "I think it's less to do with bluey and more to do with the older generations inability to process their emotions in a healthy way." – SerentityM3ow

15. "[lurking mom] Caught my father in law teary eyed after watching an episode with my nephew. Bluey is doing great work healing multigenerational trauma!" – Dull_Title_3902


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Parenting

Shocked mom reveals her toddler ate his grandfather's ashes. Somehow, parents can relate.

“He never met him but now they are always together!”

Photo credit: Canva

Didn't have this on our bingo card for today

Nearly every parent on the planet can recall turning their back for literally two seconds and finding their toddler with something bizarre in their mouth. Little ones often engage in their curiosity by eating what they see—it’s just an innocent, albeit worrisome, way of learning more about the world around them.

And this is why literally millions of viewers couldn’t help but tune in as one mom, Natasha Emeny (@palominolil), showed the aftermath of walking in on her toddler Koah eating her father’s ashes. Yep, straight from the urn.

Emeny told DailyMailshe had just gone upstairs to put some laundry away when she returned to discover the cremation catastrophe. This was especially mortifying, considering she had placed the ashes on a shelf well out of reach of her son, and it had been there for his entire life. Still toddlers are gonna toddler.

Hence, why we can hear Emeny screaming “Oh my God. When your son eats your dad.” We can also see a whimpering Koah, clearly aware he had done a bad, bad thing.

@palominolil #omg ♬ original sound - Tashjade


Hopefully, after the shock subsided, Emeny was able to take solace in some of the grade-A jokes bestowed upon her by folks who witnessed the whole thing on TikTok.

"Let us know if he starts acting like [your] dad."

“I don't think this is how reincarnation is supposed to work.”

"'When your son eats your dad' I hate when that happens."

“Well now you can also say to him when he's older, 'I can see a lot of your grandfather in you!'”

“‘I ate my grandfather’s ashes" is a killer opener to a college essay”

"Imagine how funny your speech at his wedding will be.”

Considering the video was posted on April 1st a few even wondered if this was a prank of some sort. To which Emeny replied, “I wish.”

Thankfully, she told DailyMail that Koah was “completely fine” after some water, and her father, who had a 'great' sense of humor, would have found the whole thing hilarious. So in a way, it was a bizarre source of connection.

“He never met him but now they are always together!”

A few days later, Emeny shared multiple selfies of her and her son, alive and well, and wrote in the caption: "Morning selfies from me and coco been a crazy 48 hours since this little one opened up my dads ashes 🙈"

TikTok · Tashjadewww.tiktok.com

It might be worth noting that Koah’s interest in the ashes could be related to pica, which causes kids and adults to crave non-food items like dirt, clay, paint chips, hair ,etc. It’s a serious issue, as it can cause a slew of health problems, and might be an indicator of developmental problems. That said, putting strange things in one’s mouth usually isn’t something related to pic for kids under two. Just something to be aware of.


For now, let’s just assume all is well, that it’ll never happen again, and thank our lucky stars it didn’t happen to us!

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Modern Families

NBA star's newest superfan is his girlfriend's sports-agnostic grandma

Grandma didn't care for sports. Now she's got Jaylin William's game schedule on the fridge.

Canva Photos

NBA star Jaylin Williams' newest and biggest fan is his girlfriend's grandma

It's a tall task for anyone to integrate themselves into their partner's family. You need to thread the needle of being polite and likable, but you can't be a pushover. The family has to respect you and view you as a good match for their daughter or son. And then there are individual relationships to build and nurture with each member of the family.

When you're a celebrity and your partner is a mostly regular person? It must be doubly hard. Once the razzle dazzle of being starstruck has worn off, family members are bound to have a lot of questions about your sincerity and your intentions.

Alanna Harris recently shared that her boyfriend, NBA player Jaylin Williams, has done an excellent job of becoming part of her family. He has hit it off with one surprising person, in particular: Her grandma.


jaylin williams, okc thunder, viral, heartwarming, grandma, friendshipJaylin Williams, winning on the court and with the grandmasGiphy

Jaylin Williams is an up and coming player for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder selected Williams in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft. While he's not as famous as, say, Lebron James, he's a good player who's really making a name for himself in the league. That comes with a lot of notoriety.

Harris' grandma, she says, never cared about sports, and thus had no idea who Williams was. At first. Now, she's his biggest fan. Harris posted an adorable slideshow of the two of them together on her TikTok page:

The first photo shows Harris' grandmother standing side by side with Williams, both with an arm thrown around each other. Williams' 6' 9" stature is readily apparent.

Next up is Grandma watching one of Williams' games on her phone, using a magnifying glass on the small screen. (Harris joked she was "keeping her eye out for another triple double.")

Then we've got Williams' upcoming game schedule, hand transcribed by Grandma and placed onto the fridge with a magnet (the paper is aptly titled "Basket Ball")

View the photos here.

The relationship and fandom goes ever deeper than the photos show.

"Sometimes it's hard for her to tell the players apart when she's watching on her phone because it's so tiny, so she will ask Jaylin to wear bright shoes so it's easier for her to find him," Harris told Newsweek. "He always does."

Grandma also has plenty of thoughts and opinions on how well (or not) Williams is playing in any given game.

"Sometimes she will call me during the game and ask if I can tell Jaylin he needs to shoot more when I text him at half time. I'm like, 'Grandma, the coaches know what they're doing.'"

But even though she's tough on Williams, she's still his biggest fan and defender. Harris says her grandma spends hours in Oklahoma City Thunder Facebook groups nobly defending Williams against haters and trolls.

Commenters couldn't get over the wholesome story of this improbable duo.

"Stop this is adorable"

"I know granny loved the triple double"

"The magnifying glass omg so cute"

"Grandma just tryna make sure her parlays hit," one user joked.

A user who claimed they worked for the Thunder even offered for Grandma to stop by during the next game and she'd get her a proper fridge magnet schedule. But I don't know, I kind of like the handwritten one!

Harris' post has over 5 million views and thousands of comments, both from fans of Williams and people who just love a heartwarming story.

@alanna.harris

like lets be so fr

Some say our culture has an unhealthy obsession over when celebrities date normal people, or "muggles." But we also have a perfectly normal and unstoppable obsession with adorable grandmas making friends with unexpected people.

Maybe it's because grandparents come from an older generation and, having a wealth of experience and wisdom, have far less of a filter. Grandma will let you know in no uncertain terms if she doesn't like you, and she does not have the time to put on a performance for her granddaughter's sake. So, you know the relationship is pure and genuine, as is granny's growing love of basketball. It's incredibly sweet that they've both put in the time and effort to get to know each other, and that all that effort is paying off in the family growing just a little bit bigger.

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