Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am 40 (Gen X)and my parents in their 70's, (Silent Gen). I recently went to work for someone in their '50s. He seems to have a great relationship with his kids, but I was stunned when I hear their phone conversations - he makes jokes about her and her boyfriend having sex in the hot tub, chats as if they are friends more than parent and child. To be honest, I would never dream of talking to my parents about these things and would be very uncomfortable if mine did the same.
I've heard that boomers view their kids as friends, and I've noticed that some younger workers call their parents incessantly and talk about everything.
Is it me? Am I just a fuddy duddy at the grand old age of 40? Or is the relationship between boomers and their young adult offspring just much more familiar than that of my generation.
I should add that I am also a parent, my kids are younger of course. I do want to have a good relationship with them and work to be involved in their lives and to have good communication with them. I also think that there needs to be some line there - I am their parent, not their buddy.
I think it really is more reflective of the individual more than the generation. My husband and I are boomers but I wouldn't be having that type of conversation with my kids....and certainly not at work where I could be overheard....
Yes, it's more of a personal thing... Some people are more gregarious and have lower personal limits of what to talk or not talk about... I am sure some Silent Gen-ers are less discreet than others, too.
My parents are boomers and while my dad occasionally makes sex related jokes (ie when I started college, sending me an economy sized box of condoms in a care package), I'm his adult child so we clearly have a different relationship than we would have a few years ago. Of course my parents talk to me like a friend today- that's how they interact with their "silent generation" parents as well! I thought that was typical parent-adult child interaction.
I am 40 (Gen X)and my parents in their 70's, (Silent Gen). I recently went to work for someone in their '50s. He seems to have a great relationship with his kids, but I was stunned when I hear their phone conversations - he makes jokes about her and her boyfriend having sex in the hot tub, chats as if they are friends more than parent and child. To be honest, I would never dream of talking to my parents about these things and would be very uncomfortable if mine did the same.
I've heard that boomers view their kids as friends, and I've noticed that some younger workers call their parents incessantly and talk about everything.
Is it me? Am I just a fuddy duddy at the grand old age of 40? Or is the relationship between boomers and their young adult offspring just much more familiar than that of my generation.
I should add that I am also a parent, my kids are younger of course. I do want to have a good relationship with them and work to be involved in their lives and to have good communication with them. I also think that there needs to be some line there - I am their parent, not their buddy.
Thoughts?
My parents are Boomers. I am Gen X. My mother would never but does hint. However, my father would and does make jokes. I am 38 years old and not a child. I make jokes right back at him. Our relationship has a series of bad jokes, bad puns and tricks. I would not want it any other way. It may not be generational but I firmly believe that Boomers have not just altered but recreated relationships between parents and children. This has all been for the good, I think.
The older that I get, the smarter my parents get. My father and I have always openly talked about sex and made jokes. For our relationship this has been great. The message that I have always gotten from him is:
Are you so smart that you have avoided the pitfalls of love and lust and bad and good relationships? Are you so smart that you are the only one who has had sex or thought about it?
And the same for jobs and work. It is easier to discuss with someone who is not competing with you how to handle a situation. Once you have your own children you realize that there are some situations where you have no choice but to hold your tongue. They are dependent on your check.
I think that as a society we are in the growing pains of learning not to discard our parents and not putting them on unreachable pedestals out of an ancient duty. This is generational. I think that once upon a time, especially women, left their families when they married. It does not have to be like that anymore. When my own son is an adult and goes off to live by his own rules and has his own life then we are "buddies". However, that will not happen unless I build that foundation today.
I am 40 (Gen X)and my parents in their 70's, (Silent Gen). I recently went to work for someone in their '50s. He seems to have a great relationship with his kids, but I was stunned when I hear their phone conversations - he makes jokes about her and her boyfriend having sex in the hot tub, chats as if they are friends more than parent and child. To be honest, I would never dream of talking to my parents about these things and would be very uncomfortable if mine did the same.
I've heard that boomers view their kids as friends, and I've noticed that some younger workers call their parents incessantly and talk about everything.
Is it me? Am I just a fuddy duddy at the grand old age of 40? Or is the relationship between boomers and their young adult offspring just much more familiar than that of my generation.
I should add that I am also a parent, my kids are younger of course. I do want to have a good relationship with them and work to be involved in their lives and to have good communication with them. I also think that there needs to be some line there - I am their parent, not their buddy.
Thoughts?
I have both adult children (in their late twenties; I was a mere infant when I had them, of course) and preteens still at home.
The boundaries are obviously different between the oldest and youngest. I'm done molding and teaching the big ones-- my job as a parent is to be supportive, encouraging, and let them know I always have their back. And-- most of all-- to enjoy their company. There are things I chat about with my daughters that I never would have discussed with my parents (or my younger kids, right now) simply because it's a completely different relationship-- like the fact that my one of my daughters and I are both seriously lusting after David Boreanaz's character on Bones. The eleven year old would be horrified-- she still thinks boys are icky. And my mother says she's buried two husbands and has no need for a man at the age of eighty.
My parents are at the leading edge of the boomers, I am Gen-X. We have a more distant relationship, where we edge around touchy subjects. That could just be my crazy family, however.
My supervisor is a young Boomer, and her relationship with her son is much more what I consider Boomer behavior. She worked and raised her only child, then was very involved in his education to the point of contacting his college professors on at least one occasion. (Can you say helicopter?)
I am 40 (Gen X)and my parents in their 70's, (Silent Gen). I recently went to work for someone in their '50s. He seems to have a great relationship with his kids, but I was stunned when I hear their phone conversations - he makes jokes about her and her boyfriend having sex in the hot tub, chats as if they are friends more than parent and child. To be honest, I would never dream of talking to my parents about these things and would be very uncomfortable if mine did the same.
I've heard that boomers view their kids as friends, and I've noticed that some younger workers call their parents incessantly and talk about everything.
Is it me? Am I just a fuddy duddy at the grand old age of 40? Or is the relationship between boomers and their young adult offspring just much more familiar than that of my generation.
I should add that I am also a parent, my kids are younger of course. I do want to have a good relationship with them and work to be involved in their lives and to have good communication with them. I also think that there needs to be some line there - I am their parent, not their buddy.
Thoughts?
I really think that age of the child plays into it. I am able to speak openly with my teens (15, 13) about sex. I am 43. I don't really joke about it with them because they are still developing their sense of self, which includes their sense of sexuality. However, as they develop a more mature sense of sexuality I can see being able to joke with them about sex. I have a very relaxed attitude about sex with my parents (71, 68) and we are able to joke about sex.
As a previous poster mentioned, I think that if you lay a foundation where parents and children are open as children grow up then the relationship eventually grows into a relationship of equals where joking about sex is possible.
I wouldn't joke with my teenagers but I do envision a time when we will be able to joke about sex. They need to be more secure in their own sexuality first.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
