Kids

What It Means When Kids Say To Us: “OK Boomer!”

by Kevyn Gohu
March 24, 2022

“OK Boomer!” is a long-standing, common tease and insult our kids use.

When our kids are frustrated with us, they’ll just respond with “OK Boomer!” which isn’t okay. It pretty much says that we can’t understand them because we’re old. We’ve used the “they’re-too-young-to-understand” argument. They’ll use the “too-old-to-understand” argument with us. But where did this come from? Most of all, how do we discipline them when they use “OK Boomer!” with us?

Boomer is short for Baby Boomer

We’re all familiar with people giving generations names. From Gen X, Millennials, Gen-Z, Gen Alpha, now there’s the term Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers have one thing in common which is being born after World War II. According to some psychologists, they’re usually born in the year 1946 to 1964 which is the time when the population spiked. The influence for the population spike came from the US becoming a prosperous economy, resulting in more families.

Unfortunately, the “OK Boomer!” statement doesn’t just point this out. It also points out that we’re too old-fashioned and we refuse to flex with the changing times. It’s a common trait some Baby Boomers show because of how they had to cope with the trauma of the aftermath of World War II.

Kids can get frustrated explaining things to us too!

Just like how we can lose our patience, so can our kids. Especially when certain lessons and thoughts clash, our kids use “Ok Boomer!” as a sign of throwing in the towel in hopes of explaining things to us. For example, some of us may still think that girls shouldn’t wear things that may attract rapists. A millennial or a gen-Z kid would most likely roll their eyes at the said premise and respond with “Ok Boomer!” because they’ve realized that a woman doesn’t get raped because of her clothes. Rather, it’s because of the rapist. Therefore, refuse to adhere to the “Victim Blaming Culture”.

Maintaining Tradition but Staying Open-Minded

The times change and it’s hard to accept that for some of us. But to build a better future for our kids, sometimes, we have to break away from our initial biases. It also means to recognize the times have changed. But this doesn’t mean we’re any less competent as a parent. There’s just so much to learn about out there, especially with the internet connecting our kids. So, when our kids say “OK Boomer” to us, ask for an explanation and most of all – feel free to point out that it’s rude to use age as an argument. No matter the age, learning is a lifelong journey.