Staff Reports
In this brave new world where parenting strategies seem to come and go like fads in the fashion industry, the latest buzzword on the street is “FFO parenting.” What does FFO stand for, you might wonder? Well, it means “Find out the hard way.” Apparently, some TikTok moms are reviving age-old parenting techniques with a modern twist, which basically boils down to dishing out tough consequences for kids acting like miniature demolition experts in a shopping store. One example includes a mom smashing her child’s iPad due to incessant whining. Sounds dramatic? Perhaps, but it’s a throwback to the good old days when parents ensured their kids learned lessons, sometimes the hard way.
The trend has started a conversation about whether parents should bring back stronger discipline or continue following softer, more permissive approaches. A little dose of sarcasm here, but what if the solution to parenting wasn’t buried in the latest TikTok trend? Imagine that! Before social media was around to document every well-intentioned (and often short-lived) parenting trend, our parents and their parents seemed to manage without trendy hashtags. Smashing toys or denying new gadgets isn’t exactly new, rather it’s a rehashing of an era when parents weren’t terrorized by reviews or scandals on the internet labeling them as aggressive.
Just listening to the discourse, it’s apparent that some folks long for a time when parenting wasn’t headline news. Some argue that it’s crucial our children learn that actions have consequences. A skinned knee or a random toy demolition from time to time might not be the worst idea, says one commentator. After all, these types of adversities could teach children about gravity and life’s realities, unlike the still-perfect environments of soft pillows and non-stop praise that some kids enjoy today. Life isn’t all about participation trophies and sometimes, a broken toy can be a tremendous teacher.
Yet, the conversation becomes even more humorous when touching on modern conveniences, the “zero-gravity” world of today, where air-conditioned lifestyles have mitigated the natural challenges kids used to face. Without chores that build character like fetching water in freezing weather or feeding donkeys, our children remain bubble-wrapped in comfort. It turns out, in this age of soft comforts and screen devices, we are beginning to see attempts to bring back discipline, albeit in mildly exaggerated ways such as smashing an iPad or—humorously noted—changing baby diapers in restaurants like it’s still revolutionary.
Of course, the tongue-in-cheek conclusion some pundits offer is an uncomplicated one: put down the phone. Distracted parenting, driven by the next viral trend or parenting vlog, detaches us from the simple acts of guiding and molding young minds. If being an effective parent is about creating well-rounded individuals who can tackle life’s unpredictabilities, maybe it’s time to step away from viewing these trends as parenting’s holy grail. Understanding and interacting with children directly may just revitalize the underlying principles of traditional parenting without the spectacle that social media so desperately craves.
