Boomers Worked NONSTOP, Gen X Was Left to Raise Themselves

#boomers were known for their tireless work ethic, often dedicating long hours to their careers. Meanwhile, #genx grew up largely independent, navigating childhood and adolescence with minimal guidance. Left to their own devices, they developed resilience and self-sufficiency. This generational divide has sparked conversations on parenting, priorities, and the impact of work on family life.

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CHAPTERS:

0:00 Intro
01:18 How Boomers Were Raised
02:29 How Gen X Learned to Survive in Empty Houses
03:58 The Adventure of Gen X
05:40 The Chosen Families of Gen X
07:29 The Legacy of Gen X (Outro)

[GenerationXinsight]

Was Gen X’s independence an advantage, or did it come at a cost? 👇

[DixieDaydreamer]

During Summer break in the 80s we'd all go round each other's houses during the day, watch TV or whatever, with no adults around 'cos everyone's parents worked. A bunch of 10 year old kids respecting each other's homes, we'd help clean up before we left at 4pm so the host kid wouldn't get into any trouble when his parents came home, it's so weird to think how adult we were when we were all just 10 years old! Its no wonder we Gen-X are the way we are.

[ixiahj]

Gen x here. It was a blessing, imo. Not sure why it was lonely for others but for me, friends came over or I came over to my friend's house. We played video games on the couch. Mom left us money to buy food. No one told us how long to play video games or what food to buy. Was great.

[Donkeyearsa]

The Gen X kids who felt lonely where the kids who had no friends. I was one of the kids who felt really lonely as my only friend growing up was the TV. My older brother was never home as he would ditch me the moment we would get home from school to go off with his friends if he even went home before going off to be with his friends to do what ever they did. I was still watching kids TV shows and enjoying them long past the age I should have stopped enjoying such TV shows.

Though I was not diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum until I was nearly 50 as you had to be really bad on the spectrum in the 70s and 80s to have been diagnosed and helped. Most likely you where just dumped into the dumb dumb class in the trailers in the back of the school all day and forgotten about. In a way I was lucky as I was never targeted and beaten by the other kids as I never tried to fit in with the other kids I would just go off and sit alone and just look into empty space not thinking of anything special during recess.

[jjones]

Both!! IT made us strong and it also came with a cost

[Brian-qgbm]

All the "stuff" they/we've worked for... WHERE IS IT?
Homes - rebuilt, remodeled, replaced. Dilapidated recreational vehicles, abandoned yachts, expensive "status symbol" cars - All in the scrap yard.
Marriages? At least half of them in the dumpster too.
What was the point again? Student loan debt... right?
All that pointless garbage later, we wouldn't want to be a "worthless loser" now would we.

[boblob]

Oh, please. There weren't really any downsides to freedom and independence we experienced as kids! We learned to be responsible and entertain ourselves. We had tons of free time and as we got older, we had chores and jobs.

Conversely, many kids these days are always looking to parents for what's next in the entertainment activity schedule. I am so thankful that I grew up in the 1970's.

[laurabeckwith]

I was a latch key kid. Oh the freedom!! ❤

[tbaum]

I loved the freedom. I loved the solitude. My parents coming home was the end of the day on my terms. While these videos are pretty on point on many topics, I don't know anyone who felt abandoned. We all were so it wasn't a big deal

[micosstar]

fire video!!! immediately subbed from yt recommend

[anjapinkau]

Freedom and independence: Definitely a blessing. "Television as constant companion"? Not for me. There was hardly anything on. I spent my childhood outdoors with friends, indoors reading.

[sarahfks]

I loved being Gen X. I fed myself poptarts or cereal and drank nesquick. I loved mapping my afternoons out based on the TV schedule in the Sunday newspaper (The ghost busters, He-Man, She-Ra, Jem, Flintstones, Married with Children, Star Trek the Next Generation) and books (Archie Comics, Ramona, Sweet Valley High, The Red Fairy book by Andrew Lang etc.)

[ironwillie]

That was the golden age of cereal deleters too. So many kids ended up going for a ride in the free candy van.

[JSFGuy]

True that, friend of mine and me were 13 through 15 and got home after school to empty house only for a couple of hours.

[mikethemechanic]

Gen X (75) with Alpha kids. My parents were always home as soon as I got off school. But they worked a lot of weekends and hours. My Boomer Dad never spent time with me. It traumatized me. My parents would rather hire a baby sitter and go to nice restaurants or adult parties. I would beg my dad to play with me. He would yell at me to play with my brothers and sisters. At least I lived upper middle class and went to private schools. Never had to lift a finger. My parents couldn’t care less where I was all day on a weekend. The TV was on all day. I had my Atari 2600. At 15. I was told to get a job if I wanted extra money. I did. Then I was told I had to get out at 18. Never understood why my parents wanted me out. By the time I had kids in 2013. I made sure I spend all of my time with them. My wife and I both work. But we sell them every day and weekends. We take them on big vacations and all kinds of restaurants. Adults the last 20 years include their kids in the parties. I made sure I was the opposite of my Dad. I have lots of Gen X friends who had the same kind of parents. I hate football season. My Dad would tell us it was his day off. We could not touch the TV. We had to join him or leave him alone. Had to eventually tell my Dad I refuse to take care of him when he is old. He is now 78. My sister will take care of him. I tell my 11 year olds what Jerks my parents were. They only cared about their comfort. As a child my parents had AC in their room. The rest of the house no. If we were loud. They would yell at us they needed their sleep. My kids have sleepovers and I let them be loud.

[dermagnus]

Yes. Here in germany both parents worked and my brother was 5 years older.
The term "Schlüsselkinder" was up.

[vmontoya]

I'm sorry but "Boomers Worked Nonstop" doesn't hold up to any scrutiny. It's Millennials and Gen Zer's that are shown to be working more jobs and more hours. Also boomers earned far more for the same work and things were much cheaper even after adjusting for inflation. So the Boomers that did overwork did so for extra money, not necessitiy.
Boomers worked because they didn't want children and didn't want to raise them. This complete abandonment of children wasn't occurring in other countries in the 70's and 80's.

[blongshanks]

4:59 “that same freedom brought feelings of neglect”. Um, no it didn’t. As a Gen Xer, I loved walking home from school with my friends, and then going home to an empty house. I guess me being an introvert didn’t hurt either.

[cbtbcd]

That about sums it up...When I left the house on a summer morning...I never told my parents where I'd be...Because I had no idea where I'd end up....Got a job on a chicken farm at age 12 after school and on Saturdays...I had my own money and spent it how I wanted. I was paying my own rent at age 17...At 17 I owned my own refrigerator and was proud to buy it...Bought my first car at 16 and still have it...1969 Chevelle...I have turned every nut and bolt on her many many times....We grew up fast....I would not have changed a thing.

[lindasc-m]

I’m a boomer. We were latch key children. Once in a while they would lock the screen door. We didn’t have a key for it. We would be out in the cold for 2 to 3 hours. This really isn’t just a gen X reality.