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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘90s kid summer' trend ditches tech in favor of retro fun — here's why it won't work for all parents
Millennial parents are throwing it back. After the recent resurgence of iconic nineties trends jelly shoes, chunky highlights and flip phones, the ''90s kid summer' parenting trend reeks of turn-of-the-century nostalgia. Yet, proponents behind it say they're not just harking back to their childhoods — they're sick of their screen-addicted kids. Just before summer vacations across the country began, millennial parents took to TikTok en masse to reminisce on their own school-free months. In the comments of TikTok posts like this video by @_natenorman, nostalgic nineties kids recalled the days spent outside from dawn to dusk, biking alone to community pools, the unsupervised neighborhood playtime, and above all, the lack of communication from parents who simply wanted a few hours of peace and quiet. 'My summer memories all involve pools, sports, and exploring the woods. Creeks, birdwatching, riding bikes with the neighborhood kids and my siblings,' read one reply. 'The attic fan on at night is all I remember of indoors.' Many parents online claim that they're giving their kids a '90s summer to promote positive development like independence and creativity. And according to experts, they're not wrong to do so. The American Psychological Association says that unstructured play can help children progress in important body and muscle growth, socializing, decision-making skills, conflict management, and empathy, among other areas. However, a '90s summer is simply not feasible for some, and growing pressure from online parenting communities is leading to undue stress and guilt. Kristin Gallant, a parenting expert who posts child-rearing and mom life content on Instagram as @biglittlefeelings, was among the anxious millennials. 'If it works for your family, great,' says Gallant in the video. 'Working parents, we're stressed out when we see this. We need to send our kids to camp or have some child care' so the unplanned routine doesn't work quite the same, she explained. She also mentioned how neurodiverse kids and sensitive children who thrive on structure likely also wouldn't benefit from this trend. 'If you can't give your kids a '90s summer, don't let it make you feel like s–t,' she concluded. Claire Vallotton, professor of human development and family studies at Michigan State University, agrees that making a sudden shift towards the '90s summer lifestyle is not beneficial to kids, and explains that the trend is likely a response to the tendency that many modern parents have towards both maximizing their child's development by overscheduling them with classes, camps and other programs, as well as allowing young kids to have way too much screen time. In an interview with USA Today, Vallotton said that most kids of today 'are overscheduled and using technology too much,' and a majority of them are not spending time outdoors alone like their millennial parents. The urge to overcorrect with the '90s summer trend makes 'a lot of sense, but trying to solve it all in one summer isn't going to work for either the children or parents,' she explained. 'You can't just have this over-scheduled, technology-saturated life for nine months of the year and then switch into this absolute freedom,' Vallotton elaborated. 'We haven't prepared our children for that… It's going to make the children potentially more anxious.' Some parents online have commiserated with Gallant for numerous reasons. Some complain of 'velco children' — kids who stick to their parents' sides non-stop — while others bemoan the dangers and rising childcare costs plaguing the modern world. 'Give me a 90s economy and 90s real estate prices and I'll see what I can do,' replied a mom, agreeing with Gallant. 'I wish ['90s summer] was an option now for our kids. Karens everywhere crying about the noise of a basketball, no woods to go venture in or build treehouses, and people are always driving distracted, so riding bikes down the road can't happen,' said one commenter under @_natenorman's TikTok, explicating the impossibility of recreating those summers of the past. Meanwhile, other parents offered their own interpretations of the sudden online push for the resurgence of a '90s summer. 'What I take from the 90s summer is letting go of the pressure to be over-scheduled, do every single expensive camp, and be IG perfect,' replied one user under Gallant's video. 'I think the takeaway is that it's okay to let your kid have a solid chunk of independent play where you as the parent are not playing camp Director,' explained another. 'It's not unsupervised but unstructured. Not all day but part of it. For me, after lunch, I might push the kids outside and go read on the porch while they figure it out. They have things to do provided, but it's dealer's choice.' Instead of making an instantaneous transition like millennial parents across the Internet seem to imply, Vallotton advised that parents slowly reduce technology access for kids and encourage children to play together outdoors while supervising from afar.
New York Post
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘90s kid summer' trend ditches tech in favor of retro fun — here's why it won't work for all parents
Millennial parents are throwing it back. After the recent resurgence of iconic nineties trends jelly shoes, chunky highlights and flip phones, the ''90s kid summer' parenting trend reeks of turn-of-the-century nostalgia. Yet, proponents behind it say they're not just harking back to their childhoods — they're sick of their screen-addicted kids. 4 Parents are fed up with iPads, gaming systems, and computers occupying all of their children's attention. sushytska – Advertisement Just before summer vacations across the country began, millennial parents took to TikTok en masse to reminisce on their own school-free months. In the comments of TikTok posts like this video by @_natenorman, nostalgic nineties kids recalled the days spent outside from dawn to dusk, biking alone to community pools, the unsupervised neighborhood playtime, and above all, the lack of communication from parents who simply wanted a few hours of peace and quiet. Advertisement 'My summer memories all involve pools, sports, and exploring the woods. Creeks, birdwatching, riding bikes with the neighborhood kids and my siblings,' read one reply. 'The attic fan on at night is all I remember of indoors.' Many parents online claim that they're giving their kids a '90s summer to promote positive development like independence and creativity. And according to experts, they're not wrong to do so. The American Psychological Association says that unstructured play can help children progress in important body and muscle growth, socializing, decision-making skills, conflict management, and empathy, among other areas. However, a '90s summer is simply not feasible for some, and growing pressure from online parenting communities is leading to undue stress and guilt. Advertisement Kristin Gallant, a parenting expert who posts child-rearing and mom life content on Instagram as @biglittlefeelings, was among the anxious millennials. 'If it works for your family, great,' says Gallant in the video. 'Working parents, we're stressed out when we see this. We need to send our kids to camp or have some child care' so the unplanned routine doesn't work quite the same, she explained. She also mentioned how neurodiverse kids and sensitive children who thrive on structure likely also wouldn't benefit from this trend. 'If you can't give your kids a '90s summer, don't let it make you feel like s–t,' she concluded. Advertisement 4 'The TV stations literally had to remind parents that it was now dark outside and they should probably look into where their kids were,' remembered one TikTok commenter. pressmaster – Claire Vallotton, professor of human development and family studies at Michigan State University, agrees that making a sudden shift towards the '90s summer lifestyle is not beneficial to kids, and explains that the trend is likely a response to the tendency that many modern parents have towards both maximizing their child's development by overscheduling them with classes, camps and other programs, as well as allowing young kids to have way too much screen time. In an interview with USA Today, Vallotton said that most kids of today 'are overscheduled and using technology too much,' and a majority of them are not spending time outdoors alone like their millennial parents. The urge to overcorrect with the '90s summer trend makes 'a lot of sense, but trying to solve it all in one summer isn't going to work for either the children or parents,' she explained. 'You can't just have this over-scheduled, technology-saturated life for nine months of the year and then switch into this absolute freedom,' Vallotton elaborated. 'We haven't prepared our children for that… It's going to make the children potentially more anxious.' 4 'Kid Rotting' is the opposite parenting trend, which sees parents simply accepting the modern reality of screen-addicted kids. Stanisic Vladimir – Some parents online have commiserated with Gallant for numerous reasons. Some complain of 'velco children' — kids who stick to their parents' sides non-stop — while others bemoan the dangers and rising childcare costs plaguing the modern world. 'Give me a 90s economy and 90s real estate prices and I'll see what I can do,' replied a mom, agreeing with Gallant. 'I wish ['90s summer] was an option now for our kids. Karens everywhere crying about the noise of a basketball, no woods to go venture in or build treehouses, and people are always driving distracted, so riding bikes down the road can't happen,' said one commenter under @_natenorman's TikTok, explicating the impossibility of recreating those summers of the past. Advertisement 4 Compared to the '90s, children today are much more familiar with all sorts of tech — phones, computers, and gaming consoles included. Seventyfour – Meanwhile, other parents offered their own interpretations of the sudden online push for the resurgence of a '90s summer. 'What I take from the 90s summer is letting go of the pressure to be over-scheduled, do every single expensive camp, and be IG perfect,' replied one user under Gallant's video. Advertisement 'I think the takeaway is that it's okay to let your kid have a solid chunk of independent play where you as the parent are not playing camp Director,' explained another. 'It's not unsupervised but unstructured. Not all day but part of it. For me, after lunch, I might push the kids outside and go read on the porch while they figure it out. They have things to do provided, but it's dealer's choice.' Instead of making an instantaneous transition like millennial parents across the Internet seem to imply, Vallotton advised that parents slowly reduce technology access for kids and encourage children to play together outdoors while supervising from afar.
USA Today
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- USA Today
Millennial parents want to give their children a '90s kid summer. What does that mean?
The '90s nostalgia that brought back cargo pants and flip phones is also fueling a parenting trend among Millennials called '90s kid summers. The idea is to recreate the core childhood memories of a typical summer in the 1990s, such as running through sprinklers, drinking from the garden hose and chasing after the ice cream truck. 'That's where you just open up the backyard, give them a garden house, let them go to town,' Kristin Gallant, the parenting expert behind Big Little Feelings, said in an Instagram video. 'Independent play, creativity, ride bikes and do that from sunrise until sunset.' Research shows that unstructured playtime helps build healthy bodies, increases energy and reduces tension and anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association. But it's not always possible to give children the perfect '90s summer in 2025, and parents shouldn't stress out about it, said Claire Vallotton, professor of human development and family studies at Michigan State University. The desire for a '90s kid summer is likely a reaction to a parenting culture that tries to overschedule kids with summer activities to optimize child development, she said. 'They are overscheduled and using technology too much," she said, and not spending time in nature like many of their parents did. 'It's a reaction that makes a lot of sense but trying to solve it all in one summer isn't going to work for either the children or parents.' Many parents who work full-time depend on structured childcare and can't be available for their children throughout the summer to bandage a scraped knee, she said. It's also important to find peers for children to play with outside and many families don't live in safe neighborhoods where other children live nearby. An Instagram user made a similar point in a comment on Gallant's video. 'Give me a '90s economy and '90s real estate prices and I'll see what I can do,' the user said. 'Living room' vs. 'bedroom kids: What it says about your family dynamic But even if there was a parent at home and the family lived in a safe and social neighborhood, Vallotton said the '90s kid summer may not make sense. If children aren't given unstructured freedom throughout the school year, they won't know what to do with it during the summer. 'You can't just have this over-scheduled, technology-saturated life for nine months of the year and then switch into this absolute freedom,' she said. 'We haven't prepared our children for that… It's going to make the children potentially more anxious.' Although a complete switch is ill-advised, Vallotton said there are ways for parents to ease their children into a '90s kid summer by slowly limiting screen time, promoting more outdoor activities and fostering opportunities for peer play with minimal supervision. In case you missed: Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are embracing free-range parenting. What is that? But that may not work for every family and parents shouldn't feel pressured by a social media trend, she said. 'Social media is a tool for social comparison and self-judgment,' Vallotton said. 'I would challenge parents to take a '90s summer for themselves and pause social media use.' Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Surprising personality trait means you're better at saving money
They see the wallet half full. The power of positivity might seem like hocus pocus, but having an optimistic outlook could literally benefit one's bank account, according to a sunny study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Per the research, conducted by scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of New Hampshire, positive people on average saved 16.9% more than their more pessimistic counterparts, the American Psychological Association reported. These results dispelled popular misconceptions that optimistic people save less because they assume everything will work out financially. 'We often think of optimism as rose-colored glasses that might lead people to save less for the future,' said the study's lead author, Joe Gladstone, Ph.D., from the University of Colorado Boulder, in a statement. 'But our research suggests optimism may actually be an important psychological resource that helps people save, especially when facing economic hardship.' To deduce the impact of a positive attitude on one's bank account, researchers analyzed data from eight large population surveys spanning the US, the UK and 14 European countries. The pool comprised 140,000 total participants ranging from young adults to retirees. They reportedly rated their level of optimism based on how they responded to statements such as 'I am always optimistic about my future' and 'Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad.' Respondents were also asked to report their income, savings and even total assets. Researchers found that, on average, those with sunny dispositions saved more than their less positive brethren by a substantial factor. For example, if someone saved $62,410, their optimistic attitude correlated to an extra $10,547 saved compared to their negative Nancy counterparts. Best of all, this rule held true across different countries, ages, genders, employment statuses and other factors — suggesting a strong correlation between a positive outlook and staying afloat financially. Furthermore, researchers found that the financial effect of 'optimism was similar to what previous research has found for conscientiousness, a personality trait that's widely recognized for its positive influence on financial outcomes,' Gladstone said. 'Optimism also appears to exert a slightly stronger influence on savings behavior than financial literacy and risk tolerance.' The benefit of positivity on conserving cabbage was most pronounced among lower-income brackets. Gladstone attributed this phenomenon to the fact that higher-income individuals have more ways to save, including mortgage payments, retirement contributions and, most notably, higher earnings that make it easier not to shell out dough. Of course, there were some caveats to this so-called theory that people can convert a carpe diem disposition to cash. 'For someone living paycheck to paycheck, saving can feel futile,' Gladstone noted. 'But an optimistic outlook may provide the motivation to set aside money despite present challenges.' He added, 'A mindset of hope for the future, paired with the skills to manage money wisely, may be key to helping more people build financial security.'
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
What is a compressed work schedule? Pros, cons and how to ask your boss for one
The traditional 40-hour workweek has long been the hallmark of American employment — but is it still the best way to work? With more people logging in from home, balancing family demands and prioritizing flexibility, the once-sacred 9-to-5, five-day structure is showing its age. 'Nearly half of workers said they were interested in reducing work hours to a 32-hour week without a reduction in pay and workload, and 27% want flexible schedules where they could choose their start and end times [in a November 2024 survey],' says Vicki Salemi, a career expert with Monster. The Monster survey also showed that three out of four job seekers are more likely to apply to a role if it offers a four-day workweek. Still, some employers are hesitant to reduce weekly hours while providing full pay and benefits. Enter the compressed work schedule, a growing alternative that trades longer workdays for fewer of them. 'A compressed work schedule means you're working fewer days,' Salemi says. 'For example, you might work 10-hour days Monday through Thursday.' That frees you up for a three-day weekend every weekend. Though a compressed schedule may sound ideal, it's not the right fit for everyone. Before you commit to a longer weekend, here's how to decide if the trade-off is worth it. Why embrace a compressed work schedule For employees who want more control without sacrificing full-time status, a compressed schedule offers an appealing alternative. From extra time to recharge to real savings on commuting costs, here's why this alternative schedule is gaining traction with today's workforce. One of the most significant advantages of a compressed work schedule is the added flexibility it gives you. Whether it's scheduling doctor's appointments, tackling errands or simply enjoying a slower-paced Friday, having an extra day off each week can make it easier to manage life outside of work. That kind of breathing room can reduce stress, boost productivity during work hours and help you feel more in control of your routine. A recent Gallup poll found one-third of workers are fully remote and half follow a hybrid schedule. But even for remote workers, fewer scheduled days can free up time and reduce screen fatigue. By freeing up an additional day each week, you can significantly improve work-life balance and overall job satisfaction. You have more time to rest, spend with family or pursue hobbies — all without using vacation days. The American Psychological Association reports that pilot programs have consistently shown a shift to a four-day workweek improves well-being and job satisfaction. 'Workers with particularly long, tedious commutes benefit most from compressed schedules,' Salemi says. In 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimated that it costs $0.81 per mile to operate and maintain a vehicle. Using that number, a 20-mile daily round-trip commute costs roughly $16.20. Skipping one commute day per week across 50 working weeks saves you approximately $810 annually. Spending one less day commuting each week can also have meaningful environmental benefits. A study by Cornell University and Microsoft found that skipping the commute just one day per week reduces an individual's carbon footprint by 2%. Drawbacks of a compressed work schedule Packing 40 hours into fewer days can lead to unintended challenges — from longer, more exhausting workdays to logistical hurdles such as childcare or team coordination. Before jumping into a condensed schedule, it's important to consider whether the benefits outweigh the potential stressors. A compressed work schedule doesn't mean you're working fewer hours — your time is just condensed. That can result in increased stress during the workweek. 'It can lead to work imbalance during those four work days, such as less time and energy to spend time with family, workout, do personal errands or go to appointments,' Salemi says. Additionally, if everyone is working on a different timeline, a team might have some difficulty coordinating meetings or events. If your workload is heavy, compressing it into fewer days can backfire. "If workers have an insurmountable workload, this can lead to burnout," says Salemi. "Even though a longer weekend can help boost work-life balance, during the week, they may find themselves more stressed out with those additional hours." For jobs that involve physical labor, stress and fatigue can also raise the risk of exhaustion or even workplace accidents. Many schools and childcare facilities open and close at hours aligned with the traditional workweek. 'This may not be the best scenario for parents or caregivers who need to attend to children or the elderly throughout the day or at least be at home around dinner time,' Salemi says. How to pitch a condensed working schedule to your employer If you believe the benefits of a compressed working schedule outweigh the drawbacks, consider presenting this idea to your employer. 'Keep the business top-of-mind,' Salemi says. 'Demonstrate how it can boost your productivity and hopefully customer satisfaction and the bottom line.' Here's her recommended approach: Whether you're aiming for more flexibility, greater efficiency or simply an extra day to breathe, a compressed schedule might be worth considering.
