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Certain words and actions have gained more meaning and have a greater negative impact on society than ever before. According to a feature article by Sophia Behtune published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2019, Generation Z is more likely to become stressed from offensive dialogue and gestures than Millenials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers by about 25 percent. What is the source of this stress from said offenses? For Generation Z, education is the surprising cause. “Young people are really feeling the impact of issues in the news, particularly those issues that are beyond their control,” says Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., APA’s chief executive officer. This generation is more politically and socially active. The new generation educates themselves on their culture and other cultures around the world. This knowledge uncovers derogatory acts that were once ignored.

Cultural appropriation, offensive language, body negativity, and homophobia are among the many social issues that weren’t as relevant during previous generations. According to an article titled “Cultural Appropriation is on The Rise” written by Elizabeth Choi in 2021, cultural appropriation refers to the act of adopting elements from a culture that is not your own without the appropriate credit given. Most parents of today don’t understand why mocking the Chinese language is not okay. Guardians born in a different time cannot comprehend why Caucasians should not wear braids. Words like “retarded”, “fruity”, and “ghetto” are no longer okay to say in certain contexts. Embracing all possible sizes of the human body was abnormal. Misgendering was never a huge social issue until a couple of years ago. For our efforts in raising awareness to be successful, parents must abandon entitlement and acquire an open mindset.

When a child tries to teach their guardian the new ways of the world, it should not be perceived as disrespect or ungratefulness. Values inevitably change in correspondence to the times. Why is this natural principle hard for parents to accept? In an article titled The Closed Mind published by Psychology Today in 2019, Andrea Matthews wrote, “Parents who have closed minds often train their children to believe as they believe—and will even go so far as to outright reject a child who does not agree with their beliefs.” These cycles of the negligence of awareness create a detrimental strain on the parent-child relationship. Children lose their sense of self-worth because they’ve been indirectly taught that the beliefs and struggles of their generation do not matter. All hope is easy to be lost when the one person who created you sees every concern as unnecessary. In other cases, rebellion can take control which causes parents to ignorantly wonder where they went wrong. Some households take it as far as rejecting children from their very homes. Many LGBTQ+ teens are homeless today because they challenged their parent’s close-mindedness. This common behavior has to cease.

How can one be an open-minded parent? Listen to the child with zero judgment. Don’t think about how “it used to be.” Take an adaptable approach instead of trying to “fix” the beliefs you think are senseless. Start questioning yourself. Are the changes in society truly senseless? Prioritize proactive self-development over stubbornness. Admit your mistakes. Your child will not resent you saying or doing things in the past that are currently derogatory or offensive. Ignorance does not call for toxicity. The abandonment of acceptance does. Whether you like it or not, parents, you will always have some growing up to do. For sensitivity to become a natural essence of life instead of an annoyance, you may have to let your child “re-raise” you.