What kind of parents do you imagine (or imagined) yourselves to be, Pandas? Before becoming parents, many people vow to never repeat the mistakes of their own parents and to be as different as possible in their parenting strategies. So, with Gen Z becoming parents (yes, the oldest Zoomers are already members of the parents' club!), what has changed?
Interestingly, the majority of Gen Z really love their own parents. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 93% of younger Zoomers really like spending time with their parents. And a whopping 91% care what their parents think of them. The poll also revealed that majority of Gen Zers (19%) want their parents to understand their feelings and emotions, and 17% feel they're already understood.
Indeed, there might be less of a generational gap between Zoomers and their parents. Corey Seemiller, a generational researcher and co-author of Generation Z: A Century in the Making, says that, according to her research, about 69% of Zoomers say that their parents are their No. 1 role model.
However, when it comes to parenting, they're striving for something different. According to research from VIRTUE Worldwide, eight in 10 Gen Z parents have a different approach to parenting than their own parents. Only 47% claimed that their parents' parenting style is something they wish to emulate.
What's more, younger parents do not view parenthood as a threat to their identity. Only 35% of VIRTUE Worldwide's research participants believed that having a child makes a person lose a part of their identity. Instead, 73% see parenthood as something that enhances who you are as a person.
Gen Z parents also have more progressive views on gender roles among parents and believe that parents can successfully balance career and parenthood. Only one in three Zoomer parents believe that it's the mother's responsibility to take care of the larger part of the household and parenting duties. Half of the respondents say that they split responsibilities equally.
Two in five young parents in the U.S. have had to put their education on hold when they became parents. However, the majority (67%) still believe that having children will keep them from achieving the things they want in life. Even if a third of them have paused their studies, two in three say that they plan to go back and finish their degrees.
Most people identify Gen Z as the first generation that grew up immersed in the online world. While this undoubtedly makes them tech-savvy, it's also a big source of headaches in their parenting journeys.
Young parents are dedicated to keeping their children out of social media for as long as possible and also often have strict rules about screen time. In fact, according to a poll from What to Expect, 72% of Gen Z moms strive to ensure plenty of outdoor/physical activities for their kids.
