5 Things We Now Worry About As Parents

1. Microwaves.  These amazing little boxes are seen as a necessity by most of us.  I know my microwave has saved breakfast, lunch, and dinner many times! I even use it to zap my coffee if it cools before I finish my morning cup.  I didn’t think about the dangers of this convenience until the first time I put my son’s baby food in and pushed the button.  Turns out, microwaves can add carcinogens to your food (if it’s in a plastic container) as well as decreasing the nutrients in your food.  Scary stuff when you think about it, but I try not to.  Just because I don’t plan to give up my microwave any time soon, doesn’t mean I’m not a little uneasy about its effects.

2. BPAs. Since I mentioned plastic, another thing our moms probably weren’t worrying about is BPA.  If you used bottles, you’re familiar with the term. We now require all bottles to be BPA free. But why is it so scary?  It’s the C word again. BPA is a chemical that can cause cancer. It’s sort of like a nasty byproduct of all that plastic convenience. While you go replace all your plastic food storage boxes with glass, just know that your mom probably didn’t give this a second though.

3. GMOs. Another terrifying acronym we are all familiar with is GMO. This really wasn’t a concern for our parents, but it’s becoming increasingly scary to us.  I spend a lot of time at the grocery store deciding whether my fear of GMO apples justifies spending twice as much on apples that are certified organic.  The experts argue over whether or not it’s important to avoid GMOs and they don’t seem to be reaching a conclusion any time soon. What’s mom’s opinion? My mom probably doesn’t know what GMO means.

4. Online Safety.  Since our generation is the first to really parent in the internet age, we’re sort of writing the book on this one as we go along.  I bet our moms couldn’t have even imagined all the dangers lurking on the internet that we have to deal with on a daily basis. My mom never had to worry about the repercussions of posting my baby pictures on Facebook. Currently, I’m trying to determine whether my desire to share my son’s cute Christmas pictures with all my internet friends trumps my desire to keep his face off the World Wide Web.  

5. Cyber Bullying. Speaking of safety online, a totally new problem we have to deal with is cyber bullying.  This super scary online version of bullying has some very serious consequences.  Cyber bullying poses a new set of questions and concerns that our moms never had to deal with before.  

I plan on sharing this list with my mom. I can’t wait to see what she adds to the list. Parenting has changed a lot in a short time! I wonder what my kids will have to deal with as parents. Now that’s a scary thought!

Written by: Sara Parise