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The 2009 Baby
4 Characteristics of the Modern Baby
By I.J. Schecter
Velcro diapers versus cloth. Five-point harnesses versus standard belts. Batteries of shots. Sophisticated sign language. Daily milestone tracking. Infant playdates. Is childrearing different today than it was in the past? You bet your sippy cup it is.
This shift is only natural – every generation of new parents makes its own adjustments, emulating certain practices of those who raised them and discarding others. Some aspects of modern parenting represent unquestionable progress; regarding others, the jury is still out. Regardless, the differences are undeniable. Here are four of the most significant.
Both parents involved? That's so crazy it might just make sense. Read any parenting manual from the 1950s and the notion of a working mom or stay-at-home dad might seem as ludicrous as a rocket landing on the moon. The parenting landscape today is thankfully more equitable. In contrast to fathers who never saw the inside of a delivery room, today's dads are thrust into the fray from the word go – and most of them embrace it willingly, even if that means baking the bread instead of earning it.
"I love to watch fathers today," says Linda Gurian, a mother and grandmother from Florida. "This generation of sons makes their mothers proud. From changing diapers to just spending quality time with their kids, it's wonderful to watch."
By the same token, it is no longer assumed that women are confined permanently to the house after they have a child. Daycare, nannies, au pairs and child-based programs of every type allow moms to pursue careers in a way they never were inclined to before. "We didn't have nannies, because none of us went back to work," says Toronto mother of two and grandmother of five Ruth Sheinfeld. "That's just the way it was."
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