Family, Kids & Relationships

Are you parenting a Gen Alpha kid? Here’s what you need to know

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What generation is after Gen Z? It’s referred to as Generation Alpha, and it’s the current generation of kids under about age 12. Parents who may identify as Gen Z, Millennial, or Gen X are now raising the latest generation: Gen Alpha.

While it’s not helpful to stereotype individual people based on age, this generation of kids does face some unique challenges and circumstances that may influence our approach towards raising them.

When does Gen Alpha start?

If you’re wondering, “What generation am I?” or “What generation is my kid?”, here’s a complete list of generations organized by birth years.

  • Generation Alpha: Born 2013-2025 (some say 2010-2025)
  • Generation Z: Born 1997-2012
  • Generation Y (Millennials): Born 1981-1996
  • Generation X: Born 1965-1980
  • Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964
  • Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945

When someone is born very close to the cutoff date for their generation’s age range, they may end up identifying more with one generation or the other, or just consider themselves in between. Either way, the generations are more of a cultural reference than a scientific data point.

What’s unique about the experiences of Generation Alpha kids?

Diversity

Gen Alpha is defined by its diversity: Gen Alpha is the first gen­er­a­tion of Americans in which the non-white population (52 percent) is greater than the white pop­u­la­tion (48 percent).

So far, Gen Alpha has been reported as 26 percent Lati­no or Hispanic, 16 percent Black, 7 percent Asian Amer­i­can or Pacif­ic Islander, 6 percent biracial or multiracial, and 2 percent Amer­i­can Indi­an or Alas­ka Native.

In addition, Gen Alpha is growing up in a cultural moment when LGBTQ+ identities are in the spotlight more than ever. (Nearly 30 percent of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ.)

Parents and caregivers can support Gen Alpha kids by:

Social media and technology

The birth of both Instagram and the iPad in 2010 came right before this generation. Gen Alpha is the first generation to be born into an already social media-heavy world. This means that Gen Alpha’s parents have been immersed in their smartphones and social media ever since their kids were born.

While being immersed in tech can be great for visual learning, dig­i­tal lit­er­a­cy, and adapt­abil­i­ty, it also has its downsides and plenty of unknowns. Researchers are concerned with factors such as impaired social and brain development, reduced physical activity, and men­tal health problems associated with increased social media and technology use.

Parents and caregivers can support Gen Alpha kids by:

Economy and pandemic

Gen Alpha is experiencing high­er pover­ty rates than previous generations, accord­ing to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This can be explained by two major eco­nom­ic crises, the Great Reces­sion of 2007-2008 and the 2020 eco­nom­ic down­turn due to the pandemic.

Income inequities continue to widen by race and eth­nic­i­ty. In 2021, the medi­an fam­i­ly income for Black house­holds was $37,600 below the aver­age household income. In addition, fam­i­lies of col­or have been more like­ly to expe­ri­ence loss of employ­ment income.

Poverty and income inequality can have wide-ranging effects on kids, including increased risk of having behav­ioral, social-emo­­tion­al, and health issues. Economic, educational, and healthcare support for families will be crucial for this generation.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a defining moment for everyone who was alive from 2020 to 2023 (and beyond), but also will likely have far-reaching effects into the future. Many in Generation Alpha were directly affected by the deaths of loved ones due to Covid.

Early research has shown some evidence of young kids’ language and communication skills being impacted by the isolation of the pandemic. Early intervention helps, so widespread support for these programs will be instrumental to this generation.

Plus, most parents and caregivers can probably agree that their attitude and approach towards germs and illness in general has shifted since before 2020. Only time will tell whether and how increased anxiety about getting sick — along with the many other mental health consequences of the pandemic — will affect Gen Alpha in the long term.

Parents and caregivers can support Gen Alpha kids by:

Joanna Eng is a staff writer and digital content specialist at ParentsTogether. She lives with her wife and two kids in New York, where she loves to hike, try new foods, and check out way too many books from the library.