You ’ll probably relate to more than one of these .
We recentlyasked20-somethings and 30-somethings to tell us something that they REALLY disagree on with their parents or grandparents. Here are some of their answers:
1.“My parents are absolutely convinced that people with tattoos are unemployable and that I threw away any chance of a career when I got one a few years ago, especially since it’s on my arm in a place that isn’t easily concealable year round. The fact that I have a corporate job in tech and that about half of my coworkers also have visible tattoos has not swayed their opinions.”
— 27 , Massachusetts
2.“Respecting elders. My mom refuses to understand my point of view when I say that I’ll respect a person as an individual and not just because they’re older than me. Unlike my parents, I refuse to ‘respect’ someone who disrespects me, no matter their age or relation to me (looking at you, my body-shaming, right-winger elder relatives).”
— Parvati , 33 , India
3.“Mental health exists, is entirely real, and guess what… you contributed to it. Generational trauma is hard enough to navigate without your parental figure(s) denying it and continually gaslighting everyone around them.”
— elizabethmcmahon88
4.“My parents cannot wrap their heads around platonic, opposite-gender friendships. Anytime I, a cisgender straight woman, became good friends with someone who was not also female the assumption was made that I had an unrequited love interest regardless of what anyone’s relationship status was. It’s embarrassing and insulting.”
— 38 , Ohio
5.“The amount of access owed to others because of cell phones. You’d think the generation that grew up without them would be used to having to wait to get in contact with people, but that’s not the case. I only turn on my ringer and vibrate if I’m expecting a certain notification, and even then I usually have it on DND, which infuriates my grandma. It’s too overstimulating and too much pressure otherwise (I’m neurodivergent which explains some of that).”
— sillyexgf
6.“I’m vehemently opposed to spanking. My parents beat the crap out of me growing up while calling it ‘spanking.’ It made me hate them, and I learned how to lie better.”
— hiddencake55
7.“Kids' autonomy. My mother tries to force my nephew to hug her and it makes me so mad. I have discussed this numerous times with her. She huffs/rolls her eyes and everything I say goes out the window. I told her that’s exactly why I am not ‘a hugger’ — you forced me to hug family I hardly knew all my young life, and I hated it. If I protested it didn’t matter. My autonomy was not important.”
— 34 , Tennessee
8.“Several socio-political issues, but the biggest frustration is the need to turn EVERY. FUCKING. CONVERSATION. into a monologue moment. I can ask about something as simple as the weather and BAM. I’m being talked AT about whatever stupid thing they read on Facebook or heard on whatever news channel they’re watching today (it varies). Unfortunately, this seems to be a common theme. A lot of my friends are experiencing the same thing with their middle-aged parents.”
— chelynwei
9.“The cost of everything. I actively try to avoid discussions about what I pay vs. what their expectations of payment are/were. Her relative standards are based on pre-2000 prices. We would go to the food store in the late ’90s and have a $100 bill that would fill the entire cart. $100 now is a routine Target trip for toilet paper and essentials, let alone food.”
— 36 , New Jersey
10.“The most annoying thing I disagree with my family is that having one decent-paying job will get you a house. Not anymore. You need both people working, with one possibly working two jobs, and maybe you’ll get a decent neighborhood.”
— supersalt94
11.“Dieting, food restriction of any kind, stepping on a scale ever, and that ‘obesity’ is a ‘cause’ of any disease. It took me decades to unlearn the guilt-ridden and shameful relationship with food and my body instilled in me by the Low Fat 90s and Low Rise Jeans 2000s.”
" My parent are hefty , inside seniors — they roleplay pickleball and golf game , go head for the hills and biking , and have the exemption to corrode a broad variety of whole , homemade nutrient . But they ’re somehow still convinced they need to ' lose weight ' to ' look skillful ' or ' be healthy ' and go on crash or furor diet all the clock time , which is the antonym of healthy behaviour . I have had to be very steadfast with them about ditching the ' good ' and ' spoilt ' labels and ensure they do n’t mention restriction or weight loss being the way of life to be ' goodish ' when talking about intellectual nourishment in front of my kids . These kids will keep the nonrational eating cues they were born with , grow up loving their bodies , discover to nourish their corporation and brains with all form of solid food , and with any fortune the next propagation wo n’t brook like we did . "
— 38 , Ontario
12.“Gifts. My mom won’t give cash or gift cards — she feels so guilty doing that. She believes giving an actual gift is much more personable even if the person has expressed that they would sincerely love to get cash or gift cards. Nope, they’re getting a gift instead… even if it’s something that will end up sitting on a counter never to be used.”
— sleepingminion78
13.“I had an older family member try to flex by bragging about how he ‘had’ to pay for five storage units for his extra stuff. The guy was 100% serious that success is defined by material items and was shocked that I didn’t have ANY storage units of extra junk. "
— Anonymous , US
14.And finally, “Well, first and foremost, I’m not racist.”
— deadpancowboy253
Some entry have been delete for distance and/or clarity .
