Throughout the past 100 years, many different parenting trends have gone in and out of style. One of the biggest trends that has all but dissipated is parents leaving their kids outside to play by themselves for hours at a time. Starting with panic about child abductions in the 80s, compounded with the rise of technology, kids’ ability to play outside unattended has nearly vanished over the past 40 years. Is it a shame? Is it a worthy sacrifice for their safety? It’s difficult to say for sure.

Some new parenting trends seem to be beneficial. Many young parents are rejecting the idea that you can «spoil a baby» with too much love and affection, which was an idea Dr. Spock promulgated during the mid-20th century. While lots of modern parents are fixated on healing generational wounds, not all of the newfangled ideas in parenting are best practices. Parents took to Reddit to share parenting trends they aren’t down with, and some of them are undeniably onto something.