Millennial Moms

By David Stillman

David Stillman is a Generation Xer and cofounder of BridgeWorks, LLC.

This past Sunday, many of us spent the day honoring the matriarchs of our families.

Ah, yes . . . Mother’s Day.

Just saying the name of the holiday conjures up images of breakfast in bed, handmade cards, keeping quiet so mom can sleep late, and dads of all ages scrambling to show that they didn’t forget and actually put some hardcore thought into the day. (After all, it’s good insurance for Father’s Day next month.)

But how often when we think of Mother’s Day do we picture that matriarch as being a Millennial? That’s right, I said Millennials! And I don’t mean teen pregnancy.

Many of us still think of Millennials as the babysitter, not the mother. Yet, a study from Mr. Youth states that Millennial moms make up 68 percent of all births in a given year.

If there is one thing we’re learning about Millennials, it’s that parenting is on their wish lists. According to a longitudinal survey of high school students conducted by the College Board, 77 percent of students nationwide say that raising a family is an “essential” or “very important” life objective. In 1977, by comparison, just 59 percent of students gave the same level of importance to raising a family. It looks like we should get ready for another population explosion. In fact, there were more babies born a couple of years ago when the leading edge of Millennials started to become moms than during the height of the baby boom.

But what we should prepare for is how this new generation of moms will be different and how that might impact our workplaces.

Some things we know aren’t that shocking. For example, 65 percent of Millennial moms utilize five or more separate technologies each day, including video, blogs, and wireless devices to multitask. It’s sort of cool how technology is helping them. Many Millennial moms in focus groups said that the anxiety of entering a new life stage is offset by participating in online communities that provide support and information. What does this mean for the workplace? If you are still grappling with which employees get a Blackberry or access to Facebook, you need to hurry up before these moms leave faster than their babies are out of diapers.

But the Mr. Youth study did identify some other interesting characteristics. Millennials are showing signs of being one of the most family-oriented generations to date. Different than Gen X parents—who pushed for all the work-life initiatives to make up for what they missed as kids themselves—Millennials are predicted to push even harder, as they enjoyed some of the most child-centric parenting ever known. With Boomer helicopter parents as the model, should we be that surprised?

But before we worry that we are going to lose our prized new generation of employees to Sesame Street, tee-ball games, and Mommy-and-Me classes, Millennial moms are making it clear they don’t want to get lost as individuals either.

The Mr. Youth study heard loud and clear from Millennial moms that that they have an extremely strong desire to maintain their individuality outside of motherhood. As the study states, “They love being a mom but seek outlets that enable them to continue to pursue their passions and other interests. They are giving themselves permission to etch out their own identities and are refusing to play the endless game of over-scheduling their children’s activities and losing themselves somewhere in the process.”

So how do you think this new generation of moms will change the evolving battle between work and life?

Comments

[Shalon Ironroad]

"So how do you think this new generation of moms will change the evolving battle between work and life?"

As a millennial mom, I find that the resources we have available allow us to say "yes" to more things than any generation before us, including career choices. For the first time in history, we are very easily able to stay at home with our children while continuing our careers from a home office (or wherever we want, with the help of wifi virtually everywhere). We are re-shaping the world of motherhood, as we can develop ourselves as individuals and care for our children at the same time. Our children benefit from both the time spent with Mom, and also from seeing mom work hard to create financial success.

[Rachel Rose]

So how do you think this new generation of moms will change the evolving battle between work and life?

As a 27 year old first time mom to an infant, I can say that I am personally dedicated to raising a family with mommy and daddy under the same roof. I can also reveal that my top anxieties today revolve around how to afford being a high quality parent when it takes tow incomes to cover healthcare (and it's deductibles) and loans that we're underwater on (yes; we make up the highest percentage of first time homebuyers in the underwater predicament) and retirement (social security? Isn't that just a black hole I throw money into for no reason every two weeks or so??).

In an ideal world, I'd like to be a stay at home mom to the tune of "Leave it to Beaver", or work PT while affording PT daycare and having access to the respect a FT working mom receives both in the home and at the workplace....