How Generational Differences and Dynamics Affect Conversations

Being in early childhood education means having a lot of conversations with a lot of people, mainly parents of students and team members. This means you have to manage and negotiate relationships with different people, all of whom are likely to have different personalities.

These discussions must be genuine and sincere. They need to be fierce conversations, ones that move beyond superficial interactions. However, that can be difficult because a lot of the people you talk to come from different generations, which means they all have different characteristics.

So how are you supposed to have fierce conversations with your staff and your pupils’ parents?

Understanding Generational Differences

Before you’re able to create actionable strategies to help you communicate effectively and navigate relationships with parents and staff across different generations, you first have to understand how each generation behaves and communicates. So what are they and who belongs where?

Remember that boomers are more likely to prefer face-to-face conversations more than any other generation.

Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are those born from 1946-1964. They were the first generation after World War II. The grandparents of your pupils are likely to be boomers. Often the new “helicopter parents,” boomers are likely to be heavily involved in the lives of their grandchildren.

Keep in mind that some boomers may have some difficulty understanding diversity, as they weren’t really exposed to interracial and intercultural relationships and families in their youth. It’s not that they’re against it, they just likely don’t know better.

Boomer grandparents are not waiting to be invited into their grandchild's life. They are walking right in and staying there from delivery to death. They value engagement opportunities like Grandparents Day, so it’s vital that you include the activity in your calendar.

Remember that boomers are also likely to prefer face-to-face conversations more than any other generation, so make sure to meet with them and talk to them in person.

Gen X

Gen Xers are people born from 1965-1980. At this point, they are either parents or grandparents of your pupils. Unlike boomers, they’re more financially stressed but still career-driven.

As parents, Gen Xers are more likely to care about their kids’ test scores, your center’s accreditations, and other things like that. They don’t really care about extracurricular stuff, and they believe they can go somewhere other than your centre for that. They want to know how you and your school can help their kids or grandkids become president of the country or CEO of a large company. They believe smarter kids are going to be better adults.

As for communication, Gen Xers would rather you text them than talk to them in person. Keep this in mind when trying to have conversations with anyone from this generation, whether they’re a parent/grandparent or a part of your team. 

Millennials/Gen Y

Millennials are people born from 1981 to 1996. They were the first generation who had computers and the internet as a big part of their lives. It’s very likely that a majority of your pupils’ parents and your staff are millennials.

A lot of millennials grew up with family trauma (divorce, unmarried parents, etc.). This is why millennial parents tend to have closer relationships with their children than they had with their own parents, prioritizing their role as "good parents" and wanting to contribute to the greater good.

In a way, having millennial staff to deal with millennial parents is perfect. Millennial parents value small moments, school culture, and extracurricular activities. They want to bring their kids to a school or center that will help them become better humans. Millennial staff want to know that they're giving back to society and they're doing something for the greater good. They’ll want to make sure the kids they teach become better humans.

Most Millennials are tech-savvy to a certain extent, and they were the first generation to use social networking sites. As such, a lot of their communication happens through those same social media sites and apps. They’re not big on phone calls, and they would rather you message them before dialing up their number.

Gen Z

Gen Z are people born from 1997 to 2012. Some people in this generation are still in the school system, but the oldest among them are already in the workforce. You likely have some Gen Zers on your staff right now.

Gen Zers have been through a lot in their relatively short lives, so they value security and stability. They’re digital natives, and they were the first generation to grow up with smartphones in hand. Like millennials, most of their communication happens through social networks, though they have different favored apps compared to millennials.

Knowing the differences in the behaviors of people from different generations is just the first step in having fierce conversations with them. Use it as a guide in figuring out strategies to show your sincerity when talking to them. Of course, you also have to remember that each individual will have their own different attitudes and behaviors, regardless of what generation they’re from.