Generation NeXt Parenting

You Got It, The Right Stuff (New Kids on the Block

In a recent blog I discussed how Gen X Parents are being targeted by marketers. Of course these same marketers are checking out our kids just as closely.

In a recent article titled “Whose Filling Gen-Y’s Shoes,” the following statistics are given: (As a mom of kids ages 16, 13, and 11, I read their discoveries with interest!)

--Violent crime by 12 to 17-year-olds is down by over 50 percent from its 1992-1993 peak (US Bureau of Justice Statistics).

--Despite media reports of casual sex "hookups" among college students, the late 1990s saw overall teen sexual activity decline and virginity rise (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, US).

--School shootings were down by more than half in the late 1990s (less than 15 per year) compared to the early 1990s (over 40 per year).

--Smoking, drinking and drug use among 8th, 10th and 12th graders fell simultaneously in 2002 for the first time (University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research).

--According to Gallup more than 90 percent of teens report being very close to their parents; in 1974, more than 40 percent of baby boomers said they'd be better off without their parents.

--Suicide rates for teens have fallen significantly since their 1988 to 1994 peak (National Center for Health Statistics, US).

--Today's kids are more apt to trust parents (86 percent), teachers (86 percent) and the police (83 percent) than music celebrities (35 percent) and athletes (30 percent) (Applied Research & Consulting LLC).

--Volunteerism is up. A University of California (UCLA) survey of college freshmen from fall 2001 showed an all-time high of 86.2 percent of students who reportedly engaged in volunteer work, compared to 66 percent in 1989.

--Teens now form the most religious age bracket in the US. Participation in church groups among teens rose from 17 percent to 28 percent between 1995 and 2001 (Roper). In 2002, the UC Berkeley Survey Research Center PACES project reported that 67 percent of teens supported federal aid to religious organizations -- versus 40 percent of adults ages 27 to 59.

--Teen marriages rose steadily after a low around 1990 -- a trend running counter to older US generations, which are getting married later (US Census).

You can read the complete article here:


This article has TONS of great information, but mainly it gives me HOPE. As a Gen X mom, my goal has been to raise kids who love God and want to serve Him with their lives. Seeing these new “statistics” gives me hope that more parents are doing the same.

What do you think? In what ways can you see that our parenting efforts are paying off? What hopes do you have for our kids’ futures?

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 12:02 PM