Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Therapist Calls Out Millennial And Boomer Parents—And Each Generation's Reactions Are So Telling

Screenshots from Stephanie Lindeman's TikTok videos
@stephanne221/TikTok

Family therapist and TikToker Stephanie Lindeman didn't realize she'd conducted a social experiment until after reading how Millennial parents responded to criticism versus Boomer parents.

Try as they might, no parent is going to be a perfect parent 100% of the time.

The difference is the accountability a parent takes when it's pointed out to them that they have messed up.


In a series of videos, Steph the Attachment Therapist on TikTok recently offered feedback to Millennial and Boomer parents, pointing out the key behavior that could impact their relationships with their children.

And the reactions to these videos were nothing short of eye-opening.

In the first video, Steph specifically addressed Millennial parents and the key behavior she believed would "f**k up their kids."

Being the generation that grew up alongside the rise of the internet and cellphones and the dawn of social media like MySpace and Facebook, it stands to reason that a key concern for parents in this generation would be spending too much time on their phones.

The attachment therapist pointed out that children of these parents would more likely have to fight harder for attention but would likely lose to the parent's screen time, which would send the message that they were not a top priority.

You can watch the Millennial parenting video here:

@stephanne221

Parenting psychology 101: what signals are you sending your children? Signals of attunement, or rejection? It’s natural to accidentally send signals of rejection, what’s critical is the ability to attune, validate, and repair. Also, this experiment was btwn a mom and a daughter so i focus on the mom-daughter caregiving bond, but this dynamic can be present for any caregiver-carereciever relationship. #mom #parentingtips #parenting #relationships #relationship #family #millennial #millennialmom #childhood #childhoodtrauma #generationaltrauma #psychology #attachment #attachmentstyle #therapy #therapytiktok #therapytok #mentalhealth #fyp #foryou #foryoupage

Heartwarmingly, most Millennial parents commented on the video to take accountability and seeking ways to do better.

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

Pleased with how this video went over, Steph recorded a follow-up video, this time focusing on Boomer parents.

According to Steph, Millennial parents are likely to have distant moments with their kids because of their attachment to technology, whereas Boomer parents are likely to distance themselves from their kids because of their lack of accountability.

It's a frequent feature in the parent-child dynamic for a child to try to voice their emotions only to be shut down by their Boomer parent, with the parent deflecting their behaviors back onto their child and blaming the child for their actions. This often leads these now adult children to not emotionally share with their parents, or to even go fully no contact with them.

You can watch the Boomer parenting video here:

@stephanne221

Accountability matters and can heal relationships. If youre a parent who is serious about improving your relationship with your children, this is for you! #parentingtips #parenting #relationships #relationship #family #boomer #childhood #childhoodtrauma #psychology #therapy #attachmentstyle #millennial #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #conflict #communication #healing #kids #okboomer #mentalhealth #therapy #therapytok

True to the video, the Boomers in the comments deflected their behavior and did not take accountability.

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

@stephanne221/TikTok

After seeing the comments, Steph had to come back and do a video on the accidental "social experiment" she'd conducted in the comments sections of these videos.

Millennials have become known as the generation that wants to pursue therapy for self-improvement and to break generational curses, while Boomers are often seen as a generation of narcissists, because of their habits of deflecting their behaviors onto other people and otherwise calling younger people "snowflakes" for trying to do better.

It's unfortunate to see this because when the Millennial parents used Steph's video as a tool to improve their parenting, the Boomer parents just acted as examples of what Steph was talking about in her Boomer video.

After Steph posted the "social experiment" video, most of the Boomer comments in the earlier video were deleted, but she was able to screenshot some in her video.

You can watch her video about the accidental "social experiment" here:

@stephanne221

So believe it or not, i accidentally gave both millennial parents and boomer parents feedback on how they injure their children, and wowow the results say a lot 🤯😳😳 #millennial #millennialsoftiktok #millennialmom #mom #parenting #parentingtips #kids #parenting101 #psychology #socialexperiment #boomer #boomerparents #socialexperiment #therapy #therapytiktok #mentalhealth #family #communication #healing #relationships #relationship #fyp #foryou #foryourpagе

All parents are going to mess up from time to time because they're human, and that is okay.

Again, the difference is that they do what they can to correct the mistake and take accountability for their actions.

Children who see their parents be human and accountable are more likely to stay in those relationships, rather than feel like they are responsible for their parents' behavior and feelings.

Definitely some food for thought.

More from Trending

Kid Rock
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Offering Massive Discount To His MAGA Festival Due To Abysmal Ticket Sales

Musician Kid Rock has hitched his wagon to president Donald Trump for quite some time now, and it seems he too is in the "find out" stage of that particularly exercise in FAFO.

It seems that when the president you form your entire personality around craters to a catastrophic approval rating even for him, your ship starts to sink too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Driscoll; Tammy Duckworth
Cheriss May/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tom Homan; Pope Leo XIV
Fox News; Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

Trump's Border Czar Ripped For Hypocrisy After Telling Pope Leo To 'Stay Out Of Politics'

President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was called out for hypocrisy after telling Pope Leo XIV to "stay out of politics" after he clashed with Trump over the widely unpopular war in Iran.

Last week, Pope Leo criticized the war and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less
Dave Chappelle speaks at the premiere benefitting the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Dave Chappelle Just Criticized MAGA Politicians For 'Weaponizing' His Anti-Trans Jokes—But He's Not Getting Much Sympathy

Dave Chappelle seems super duper surprised that people took his punchlines exactly as he delivered them. Back in 2021, he carelessly ranted about trans people during his Netflix special The Closer, setting off immediate backlash.

The comedian’s so-called “joke” that kicked off the controversy:

Keep ReadingShow less
Ariana Grande and Robert De Niro in 'Focker-in-Law'
Universal Pictures/Paramount Pictures

Fans Are Shook After Hearing Ariana Grande's 'Normal' Speaking Voice In New 'Focker-In-Law' Trailer

We've met the parents-in-law, we've met the Fockers, we've invited a few little Fockers into the world, and now, the Circle of Trust is ready to get a little bit bigger with a Focker-in-Law.

Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are back as Greg Focker and Jack Byrnes in the Focker universe as the somewhat maladjusted, sensitive guys with an overbearing, former interrogator father-in-law who have learned over the years how to coexist, if not even trust each other a little bit.

Keep ReadingShow less