The future of families: four discoveries that change everything | George Carey | TEDxNaperville
TEDx Talks Published on Jan 27, 2016
For the past ten thousand years, the parent/child balance of power has been hierarchical with the moms and dads making most decision and kids following their lead. But in the last ten, a new generation of Millennial parents have replaced the family hierarchy with a family web: one in which most parents view their child as their best friend, moms and dads have abdicated as the primary seat of power, and most decision making is democratic.
In short, the core values that guide families’ choices on everything from the brands they buy to the candidates they vote for look nothing like those of previous generations.
In his talk, family branding guru and founder of The Family Room LLC George Carey takes a closer look at these changes, their impact on children, how they are changing the future of families and the future of our world forever.
George began his career in youth and family marketing with his childhood love of Bugs Bunny cartoons (ask him to do his imitation of Foghorn Leghorn). Since then he has become one of the world’s leading authorities on youth and families. He began his career in the youth and family advertising space where he led global accounts like Procter & Gamble and General Mills. He then founded Just Kid Inc., a research, strategy, and innovation agency that ultimately evolved into The Family Room. George has been a policy advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services and a Tween Segment Specialist for the White House Office of Drug Control Policy. He’s also a Kid Power and Golden Marble Award Winner. On a good day he also gets the “Great Dad” award from his 2 teenage daughters.
Comments
Elephant or duck? How about a combination of both since parenting requires being a duck to guide them through certain life situations and being a elephant to prepare them to take the lead in certain life situations. It’s better to be either a duck or an elephant rather than a turtle. Turtles lay their eggs and abandon them to the environment to take responsibility for their survival. When I lived in Florida, that was one of the things I did with other volunteers during turtle season. We would comb the local beaches for turtle nests and mark them so beach goers don’t trample on them or disturb them. Evolution also got involved by having turtles lay many eggs to ensure survival of a few to prevent the species from becoming extinct. But turtles are harmless non parasitical creatures unlike humans – a useless but vicious marauding killers species. The existence of just one such human poses a grave threat to nature.
Patriotism and authoritarian inculcate collective groupthink that can breed fascism. Tom Brokaw’s greatest [silent] generation are the parents of the boomer generation and grandparents of generation X. These are the two generations “governing” America since the Clinton era and are responsible for the Dickensian and fascist state America is sinking into. Need I say more?
Thanks Mr Carey for pointing out the destructiveness of authoritarian parenting. I do not approve of my authoritarian parenting – too much respect and deference to adults/authority, many of whom were not deserving. I made sure NOT to raise my kids that way. While respect is initially given, it is earned thereafter depending on the character of the individual. I am not my children’s best friend. When my oldest daughter was in middle/high school she wanted to know why I couldn’t be like the moms of her various best friends. moms. My response was “then who will be your mom?” This led to a discussion on best friend vs mom and why I couldn’t her best friend. A parent doesn’t have to be authoritarian to exercise the prerogatives that come with the responsibility of being a parent.