How my Alpha Kid is Helping me make a Transition – Millenial to Alpha Mom
I am the founder of SquareBag and a mom to a 9-year-old explorer Alpha child. So, I know how tedious child upbringing can be.
But, before I express my thoughts on managing the Alpha Nintendos, let me ask you — who are Alpha kids?
Kids born in the 21st century, having early 2010s as starting birth years and the mid-2020s as ending birth years, are called alpha kids. This is because they are born to us, the Millennials, who lived in a way less sophisticated and less technically advanced world (unfortunate but the sad truth!).
The world is going digital, so how can we expect our kids to stay away?
I have figured out to be a good Alpha parent to my daughter over the years to become smart and learn from her.
I suggest always try to cope with your kid’s technical side and be more acquainted with the virtual world; else, get ready to hear the phrase, “Mom, don’t be a bore.”
Dance Along:
I make sure not to preach to my younger one with dos and don’ts. Because every time I try to control her and insist on the “millennial” rule book, she is least interested. Instead, I work on setting practical examples to educate her.
For example, Minecraft & Roblox are on hype amongst Alphas. So does for my girl; she loves to talk about it, teaches me. I never block her thoughts and excitement. I allow her to play and get along the ride sometimes. However, I ensure to draw lines on the playtime. To raise an alpha kid, we will have to be an alpha before being a millennial parent. Only then can we see our kids obeying us and avoid the fuss of being boss.
The Gadget Trouble:
One more problem I have faced with my daughter is she spending more time with the gadgets. To resolve this, we both agreed on specific time intervals and made sure that we adhered to the same. To get her accustomed to this routine, I would promise her some surprises at the end of every month, and believe me; she never denied whatever I say till today.
Encourage their individuality by being a friendly parent, which many of us might have missed as a child. Control is not the key; you have to build trust by conveying your actions and gestures that you will be there to take care of them constantly.
The parenting practices I follow to be a good parent to my daughter.
- Early morning, I always plant a kiss on her cheeks n forehead and start the day with a morning hug and a big smile — this gives her the comfort that I am there with her.
- I try to involve her in my job to make her feel valued — when she adds value to the work, I accept the advice wholeheartedly. The Alpha kids have a few tips and advice, which goes a long way. My little one knows how to operate Google and G-mail better than me!
- We go for morning and evening walks, discussing each other’s day — She talks about the games, websites, codes she is working on, and I talk about work and family life.
- I involve her in my cooking work too. That allows me to add some additional daughter-Mom time to my schedule and helps us manage her screen time.
We make sure to spend quality time together that helps in building a strong bond with my munchkin.
Alpha kids are the most technically advanced, and we should be proud of this change. They will have access to whatever they want over the internet. Technical gadgets are the future and will soon become their learning mode (in fact, while I write this, the pandemic has given us food for thought). We can’t restrict them from using them. But, as a parent, we possess the right to eye what they are exposed to on the devices.
My 9-year-old uses her device to learn to code, write a story, use the medium platform for her poems, and learn Augmented Reality and Virtual reality.
To Conclude:
- Move from being a Millennial parent to an Alpha parent,
- Accept that you have never been in the world that your children are,
- Embrace the rational behavior of the alphas and be broad enough to address their pace of communication,
- Stop reciting — “When I was your age…..”
- Be a parent that they can always count upon and want to come to when in need.