Parenting Trends In 2015
The parenting trends around the world in the year 2015 are a mix of some old and some new. Although we have had old ones that have been done repeatedly, we also have quite a few new other trends in the parenting world. Here is our list of some we thought are worthy of mention culled from mom.me
Smash Cakes
Smash cakes are small cakes that are made just for little ones celebrating their first birthdays. The sole purpose of the cake (as the name implies) is to be smashed up. Obviously, we wouldn’t want our adorable little babies to mess up their first birthday cake before and after blowing out the candles on the cakes! So the trick is to present it to them when it’s time to blow out their candle, and let them dig in with their hands. This one’s just for them, and beware it can get really really messy!
Pre Pepped Meals Delivered
This trend has become fast rising most especially in the western world with both parents actively involved in the corporate sector and single parent households on the rise. As a result home-cooked dinners are getting the squeeze. These subscription services drop pre-measured, pre-portioned and often organic ingredients (plus recipes) right at your door between two and five times per week, making homemade family dinners somewhat doable in the unrelenting work/school/life grind.
The Year Parents Got Serious About Sleep
Health, happiness, good grades, great beauty—they all come down to one thing: sleep. And 2015 was the year we got serious about it. The National Sleep Foundation came out with guidelines that shocked even the most sleep-righteous of parents into realising that their kids were not getting enough sleep. There was even a conference bringing together health practitioners, sleep researchers and media bigwigs to discuss this great deprivation of our times. It is our job as parents to make sure we put down our foot down on the issues of adequate sleep for our children, without compromise in the least bit!
Letting Kids Fail
Some parents are just too afraid to let their kids fail. The sooner we allow our kids to realize that life has never been a win-win all charade, the better it would help them face life’s realities and challenges. This year parents took serious measures back in an effort to raise more resilient, risk-taking, self-assured, confident and outgoing kids.
Dads Are The New Mums
This is the year dads broke through (or at least cracked) the pink ceiling, at home and at work. The number of high-profile corporations lengthening their paid maternity leave and offering significant paid paternity leave for new dads snowballed. The Lagos State Government added their own work incentive for new fathers which would make sure the father would be entitled to 10 working days paternity leave in relation to and at the time of his spouses first two deliveries. Talk about a stay home dad!
Longer Maternity Leave
All around the world their has been an constant outcry of short and sometimes poorly paid maternity leaves for working mothers. Companies finally realizing short, unpaid maternity leave is bad for the bottom line, this year also saw a boost in postpartum benefits for a growing number of working moms. Lagos State Government joined the global move by making sure that mothers were not left by approving six months maternity leave with full payments for female public servants in the state.. While It is not every Company, women have more options, like Netflix that offers unlimited paid maternity leave! Wow.
Working Mums
2015 may be the watershed year for working families and keeping women in the workplace. Slowing down, or stepping away from work for a while, does not have to mean the end of career advancement. It takes an understanding that it all about timing and that necessary sacrifices have to be made for a well balanced family life. Workplace policies till have room to move on this.
The Brelfie
Otherwise known as the ‘Breast Selfie’. Facebook has been booting images of breast feeding moms from its feeds for years, but Instragram became a hotspot for posting pics of moms nursing their babies. Our phones document our new haircuts and the baby’s first steps. Why not a couple of shots at mealtime? Breastfeeding selfies became so ubiquitous this year, they even got their own mash-up name: the brelfie.
Increase in Single Parenting Among Nigerians
There is a rising trend of single parenting around the world including Nigeria. Several factors contribute to the growing number of single parents, among these is the changing view of single-hood, which is increasingly being viewed as an alternative to marriage. High divorce rate also means there are more singles, more people have experienced divorce or separation in their families and have a more negative attitude about marriage and not as opposed to the idea of single-parenting. Some reasons commonly given by women for leaving her partner usually include adultery, abuse, desertion, addiction to alcohol or drugs. On the other hand some single parents have not chosen the situation willingly.
