9 Old-Fashioned Values Of 60s & 70s Kids That Are Basically Obsolete With Younger Generations
Elzbieta Sekowska | Shutterstock The old-fashioned values kids in the '60s and '70s were taught are basically obsolete with young people today, and that’s not because they’re not important. They just don’t resonate in the same ways.
We often hold our values so close to our chests that differing ones feel like a personal attack. It makes sense. These values and morals define our lives and identities. However, there’s no denying that as each new generation comes into the world, their values will shift, as does society, culture, parenting styles, and needs.
'60s & '70s kids were taught these old-fashioned values that are basically obsolete nowadays:
1. Respecting people only because of age
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Yes, respect still plays a huge role in modern culture, and plenty of young people are respectful. However, the all-encompassing expectation that young people should respect their elders just because of their age and life experience is a value that not everyone accepts blindly anymore. In fact, many people suggest that it’s actually unhealthy to offer respect to someone who’s clearly mistreating or disrespecting you.
Especially to young kids, teaching this kind of value only asserts the belief that they shouldn’t advocate for themselves in the face of mistreatment. It teaches them to respect, and often trust, that older people have their best interests at heart and deserve to be respected, even in situations where that may not be true.
2. Family comes first
For Gen X kids, family came before everything. The expectations were simple: you came home for family dinners, showed up to family gatherings, and put family needs before anyone else’s.
Much like privacy around money and mental health, families also expected that family issues stayed private at home. It was a unique kind of family value that taught kids to be somewhat secretive in loyalty to their relations.
While plenty of Gen Zers love and respect family values today, they’re also not afraid to set their own boundaries and cut ties when they need to.
3. Respecting authority
When kids raised in the '60s and '70s made a mistake or did something wrong, there was no negotiating with authority. Whether it was a teacher at school or a parent at home, dealing with the discomfort of discipline from authority was a personal obligation.
However, as parenting styles shift away from authoritarian vibes, toward a more gentle approach, kids also learn that they can push back on authority. Yes, it teaches them to understand the why behind their mistakes, instead of just being punished, but it also often urges them to push back on authority as they get older, which does them few favors.
4. Speaking face-to-face as a form of respect
So many older generations are used to face-to-face conversations, especially at work or in situations where you’re resolving a serious issue with a partner. Texting and emailing are convenient, but it’s not necessarily respectful in these specific situations to Gen Xers and baby boomers.
However, studies reveal that Gen Zers and millennials are communicating with their friends and loved ones almost entirely through their phones. They no longer believe it’s disrespectful or unprofessional to have hard conversations offline, even if it seems outrageous to some of their older peers.
5. Treasuring family traditions and heirlooms
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Many Gen Zers aren’t interested in keeping or storing their family heirlooms. Some are even choosing to skip family holidays and gatherings in an effort to break away from the confines of their upbringing.
It’s a stark contrast to the family values people in the '60s and '70s were raised with by their parents. They complained about family gatherings in some situations, but there was never any question about whether or not they’d attend. The same goes for family heirlooms. Plenty of Gen Xers and baby boomers still have china cabinets filled with mementos from relatives.
6. Contributing to the household is the bare minimum
Many young kids today still play a foundational role in their households, but the expectations they have often look entirely different from their older counterparts. Gen X and boomer kids had responsibility and obligations to feed into the household, whether that was managing babysitting duties, doing most of the household labor, or even getting a job to help support their parents financially.
The reality of their childhood lives was centered around maturity, often before most kids today even have a shred of independence. It was that value of hard work that’s stuck around today, for the better and worse of many children of the '60s and '70s.
7. Kids learn by doing
Whether it was cooking meals or spending countless hours during the day playing outside, kids in the '60s and '70s often had freedom unlike most modern kids have ever seen. They’re coined the “latchkey generation” for a reason. They spent most of their time alone, figuring things out and learning through trial and error.
Even if it would make anxious parents today lose their minds with their own kids, these youngsters grew into independence and maturity quite quickly. They’re more resilient adults today because their parents valued these hands-on learning opportunities.
8. Privacy is paramount
From family issues going on behind closed doors to suppressing mental health problems, kids in this era were expected to follow and respect the value of privacy. Even money was a hush-hush topic for kids, culminating in a kind of shame and guilt some adult kids still carry today.
However, Gen Zers are leaving this value behind in many ways and pushing back on the expectation to withhold their struggles to make others more comfortable. That's not always a good thing, especially when it comes to social media, but their oversharing does have some benefits.
They’re not afraid to ask for help and express their emotions. They’re learning financial literacy by sharing their struggles openly online and with friends. They’re figuring out how to set boundaries with family by seeking advice from others, instead of suppressing struggles and dealing with it on their own.
9. Simple lives are the best lives
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While kids from these decades did grow up with an important appreciation for simplicity and frugality in their lives, it couldn’t be more different from the values of younger people today. Whether it’s maximalism around style and self-expression or a general emotional openness online, modern kids aren’t afraid to be a little much.
There are pros and cons, but for the most part, the joy of a simple life isn't one to turn your nose up at. It wouldn't be bad for kids today to have more afternoons spent biking around the neighborhood rather than scrolling TikTok.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
