Kids

7 Life Lessons Millennial Moms Teach Their Daughters

by Kevyn Gohu
January 11, 2022

With the changing times, millenial moms teach these 7 inspiring lessons on love and life to their daughters.

With the constantly changing times, it’s no surprise that even the life lessons change. Millennial moms might find themselves butting heads with their moms on how to raise their daughters due to generation gaps. But, we need to accept that lessons do change along with the world. While some of these lessons may go against some traditional beliefs, it’s good that we also teach our daughters to take these with a grain of salt.

1. Social media cannot dictate their value as a person

The age of social media has its pros and cons. While it connects people, it sometimes makes our daughters more conscious of themselves. Millennial moms are no stranger to how quick, relentless, and ruthless social media’s judgment is. They’re also more aware of how a simple “like” can make or break our daughters’ self-esteem. When our daughters feel vulnerable and “not good enough” because of social media, it’s up to us to remind them that social media cannot completely dictate their value. They themselves have a bigger say in it than just a bunch of randoms.

2. Boys don’t need to always initiate

Traditionally, boys make the first move in starting a relationship. But millennial moms know that some boys can be quite dense or still not familiar with how to handle these romantic feelings. So, they go for the more direct approach. Instead of agonizing over the unknown, might as well just ask straight up. Although there’s the fear of being rejected, it’s better than having even more irrational thoughts about the relationship.

3. Sex doesn’t ruin a woman’s value

Sex’s remained a taboo topic for quite some time. And for many who are traditional, some say that sex can even ruin a woman’s value. But many millennial moms have become more open to the topic. Sex has always been a natural behavior and millennial moms are treating it as such. Millennial moms have steered away from the traditional thought, some even believing that the idea of sex ruining their daughter’s value is a result of patriarchy.

4. Enjoy being single

Many of us had a timetable when we wanted to get into a relationship. But millennial moms have a different approach. For them, it’s okay to not have a relationship before 30. With the multiple career choices and access to a lot of things, millennial moms encourage their daughters to find themselves first before diving into a relationship. For them, finding oneself helps in finding a relationship because it helps find things they’re not okay with.

5. There’s no right way to be a woman

Usually, we have constructs on what a woman is. But there’s no right way to do it, at least according to millennial moms. As the times change, so do the ways to survive. Years ago, women weren’t allowed to vote or get a good education. But now, women can study, become breadwinners, start their own businesses, and do a variety of other things. For millennial moms, there’s no one way to be a woman.

6. If you’re going to be single, at least be rich

There’s no shame in being single but we need to earn our own money. Our hobbies are not cheap. Especially if we’re collecting designer bags, investing in diamonds, or building our own businesses, we need money to do that. Traditionally, women preferred if men could spoil them like that and even used it as a gauge to see how serious they were about the relationship. But millennial moms have a different approach: if it doesn’t suit you to make a man buy it for you, earn money so you can buy it yourself.

7. Not wanting children is okay

Recently, Pope Francis risked the ire of the world by saying “not having kids is selfish”. But there’s more to that statement which millennial moms can agree on. When our daughters feel they are not emotionally or spiritually ready to raise another human being, that’s not being selfish. Rather, it’s an expression of empathy and knowledge that they have an idea of how hard it is to be a mother. Millennial moms are aware not everyone’s cut out to be a mom and teach their girls that those who don’t want to should still be respected as women.

Millennial moms teach the value of a woman’s agency

For millennial moms, it’s about teaching their girls to value themselves and not to give society’s thoughts too much weight. While perception is still something to consider, our daughters look for validation more from us as their moms. Although we’ve grown up in a more traditional household, we have to accept that some of those beliefs may not hold as much water as they used to. Empowering them and recognizing them for their choices may not be within the conservative ways but it’s something we know our girls will need especially when they leave home.