The Great Softening: From "Tsinelas" to Tablets 📱

The Observation: In the 90s, a look from your mother was enough to make you freeze. Today, you can scream at a child in a restaurant, and they won't hear you, because they are hyper-focused on Cocomelon.

We are witnessing a massive pendulum swing in parenting. We went from the "Military Style" discipline of the 90s and early 2000s to the "Digital Pacifier" era of today.

While we rightfully moved away from physical punishment, we may have accidentally left behind discipline altogether. And the result? A generation that is safe from the belt, but enslaved by the screen.

1. The Old Guard (90s - Early 00s) 🩴

If you grew up in this era, you know the drill.

The Tools: The belt, the hanger, and the legendary Tsinelas (slipper).
The Atmosphere: Strict. Fear-based compliance. "Authority" was absolute.
The Lifestyle: Because there were no phones to distract us, we were forced to go outside. We scraped our knees, climbed trees, fought with other kids, and learned social dynamics the hard way.

The Verdict: It was harsh, and often traumatic for some. But it produced children who were acutely aware of their surroundings and the people in them.

2. The Shift: The Over-Correction

In the 21st century, we realized that hitting kids creates trauma. So, we stopped. This was progress. But we made a mistake. We confused "Gentle Parenting" with "Lazy Parenting."

The Fear of "No": Parents became afraid of their children's emotions. To avoid a tantrum in public, we stopped correcting behavior.
The New Pacifier: Instead of teaching emotional regulation or patience, we handed them a smartphone.
The Result: The device became the parent. It became the silencer.

3. The "iPad Kid" Phenomenon 🧟

The strictness of the past has been replaced by the dopamine loop of the present.

The "Inside" Generation: Kids today don't have "street smarts" because they don't go to the street. They exist in air-conditioned rooms, scrolling.
Sensory Deprivation: Real life is texture, dirt, heat, and smell. A phone is flat, cold glass. We are raising kids who are sensory-starved.
The Loss of Social Skills: You cannot learn empathy from a YouTube video. You learn empathy by interacting with real people, looking them in the eye, and reading body language, skills that are dying.

4. The Cost: A "Less Human" Experience

This loose parenting style is contributing to a disconnected humanity.

When a child is strictly disciplined, they learn boundaries. When a child plays outside, they learn resilience.

When a child is given a phone to avoid boredom, they learn numbness.

We are raising a generation that is technically "connected" to the internet, but completely disconnected from the human experience. They are safer from physical pain than we were, but they are drowning in anxiety, unable to look a stranger in the eye.

Conclusion

We don't need to bring back the abuse of the past. But we need to bring back the boundaries.

We need to take the phones away, open the door, and tell them: