Honestly, What If Millennial Parents Just Aren’t Going To Be Good At It?

The Still Face Effect and more.

Ted Bauer
5 min readDec 4, 2023

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A lot, and I mean a lot, of hand-wringing in recent years about whether there is a decline in parenting due to “the screens.” There is absolutely a decline in parenting, and “the screens” are part of it, but so are 10,000 other things, including Snowplow Parenting, parents wanting to re-do their youth, grandparents wanting to re-do their own parenting, and more. Except for the screens part, none of it is really that new. We just like to get agitated about various things because I guess it’s fun? I don’t know. I lost track.

This video will sum up some memes, themes, and reactions to millennial parenting decently:

In said video, you learn about “The Still Face Effect.” Phrased very simply, a baby needs his parents (specifically his or her mother) to be responsive from about ages zero to two. At two, they can begin to self-regulate. Watch how the baby loses their mind and tries to squirm out of their high chair when their mom doesn’t react to them:

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Ted Bauer
Ted Bauer

Written by Ted Bauer

I write about a lot of different topics, from work to masculinity to relationships and social dynamics, I.e. modern friendship. Pleasure to be here.

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