Parenting: The Only Job Where Everyone Has an Opinion

Parenting: The Only Job Where Everyone Has an Opinion

Parenting…
Something you can never quite seem to get perfectly right.

I mean, have you ever actually met the perfect parent? Because if you have, please introduce me. I’d like to ask them a few questions… and possibly check if they’re human.

Most of us grow up noticing the little things our parents did wrong. And then—almost magically—when we become parents ourselves, the previous generation starts noticing everything we’re doing wrong.

It’s a cycle, really.

“Humne toh aisa nahi kiya…”
“Humare zamaane mein toh aisa nahi tha…”
“Tum log social media pe bahot dependent ho…”
“Chocolate nahi dena kya matlab hai?”
And my personal favourite:
“Itne restrictions rakhoge toh baad mein tumhari ek nahi sunenge ye log!”

That last one always makes me laugh a little… mostly because the same people once had very clear rules about TV time, outdoor play timing, and the exact dinner time we had to follow, the friends we were allowed to have over (or not)...

But before the older generation gets completely fired up reading this — let me clarify something. This isn’t criticism. Not even close.

Because the truth is: every generation of parents is just trying to do the best they can with the tools they have.

Our parents raised us in a very different world. A world without screen-time debates, WhatsApp parenting groups, or Instagram reels telling you twelve different ways to pack a “brain-boosting” snack box.

The world we grew up in was different.
And the world our children are growing up in? That’s different again.

So naturally, the way we parent will be different too.

Our styles are different.
Our information is different.
Our experiences are different.
And honestly… our children are different.

Parenting isn’t a fixed formula passed down unchanged from one generation to the next. It’s more like a recipe that keeps evolving. We take what worked for us growing up, leave behind what didn’t quite sit right, and add new ingredients we discover along the way.

Some days it works beautifully.

Other days… it’s a little like experimental cooking.

But at the heart of it, every generation is doing the same thing:
trying to raise good humans with the love, knowledge and patience they have.

And maybe that’s the only thing that has stayed exactly the same.

So no — there may not be a “perfect” parent.

But there are millions of parents everywhere, figuring it out one day at a time.
And that counts for a lot.

And while we often talk about how different things are today, there’s also so much from our own childhood that we carry quietly into the way we parent.

The stories our parents told us.
The freedom to play outside till the streetlights came on.
The comfort of knowing someone was always in our corner.
The little traditions that made childhood feel warm and safe.

Maybe parenting is really about holding on to those beautiful pieces… and passing them forward in our own way.

So before you go, I’d love to know —
what’s the one thing from your childhood that you hope to pass on to your children?