From 60s babies being left outside for naps to today's tech-dependent mothers who rely on apps 24/7, which generation really got parenting right?

New parents bringing home their bundle of joy in 2026 might rely on a whole host of tech to get them through those dicey first months of sleep deprivation, nappy changing and middle-of-the-night hollering for milk. A suite of apps – from Huckleberry to Nara Baby and Peanut – have evolved to help you track a newborn's every squeak, from naps to feeds to developmental milestones... and even to help you meet other parents going through exactly the same thing.Other aids designed to make parents' paths a little easier include an electric pram rocker, sleep-enhancing devices that blast out white noise and state-of-the-art monitors that come not only with an HD video camera – but also real-time heart and oxygen rates. For those who raised children decades ago – and are grandparenting now – the advent of such tech might leave them wondering how their own babies survived in a very different world. Dr Tara Porter, clinical psychologist and parenting expert at Central Health London, says that having such a raft of technology – which comes at a financial price for young families too – can actually put too much pressure on those with newborns today. 'In a couple of generations we’ve moved from a position where babies were placed outside in their prams so mums couldn’t hear them cry, through to having them in the house and leaving them to cry, through to sound monitors and video monitors. 'The tech feels like it is there to be reassuring to parents, but it actually becomes a pressure and a stress. It's another standard to meet – monitoring and being responsive 24 hours a day. We have so much information, we end up relentlessly striving. The "perfectionist" mindset is anxiety-provoking and takes us away from just being.'So just how different is life for parents walking out of a maternity unit today compared to 70, 50, or even just ten years ago? Here, we look at the popular techniques that past generations of parents relied on to raise their offspring... and ask experts to tell us whether they've stood the test of time.The 50s and 60s: Whisky on the gums and latchkey kids Babies would routinely be left outside of shops while parents went in... and al fresco napping, sometimes for hours, would also be encouraged, a practice still common in ScandinaviaIt's the kind of advice that might send modern parents into a spin... but mid 20th-century parenting counsel included tips such as rubbing whisky on gums inflamed by new teeth, and offering infants as young as four-months-old orange juice. The latter was deemed a good source of hydration and vitamin C, contrary to the way the high-in-sugar drink is regarded today, with current NHS nutritionists advising that orange juice lacks fibre and can damage teeth in their earliest form, as well as causing potentially harmful blood sugar spikes. There are some approaches that have stood the test of time from the post-war decades though, including what might have been referred to as 'airing' then. It was common for mums to leave their babies outdoors to nap in the 1950s and 60s, and while al fresco napping is now rare in the UK, largely because of safety concerns, it's still very popular in Scandinavian countries, particularly in winter when the cold air is thought to promote immunity and foster better sleep habits. Babies in bassinets pictured outside and getting a little fresh air at a UK maternity ward in the 1950s Play too was as actively encouraged then as it is now. A page in Your Child's World, which was published in 1967, urged mothers and fathers to enjoy the silliness of having a baby in the house, writing: 'It takes so little to make a joke: exaggerated posturing, giant steps, sing-songs, new words chanted into unaware vocabulary growth.' A healthy relationship between parents was often prioritised too and even younger children were encouraged to be independent from an early age, with a generation of 'latchkey kids' – children who would come and go from home freely without constant parental supervision, raised in the decades after the Second World War. Dr Porter says: 'What could we learn from the past? The capacity to let go, give our kids a bit more freedom – including from our scrutiny – and accept that we can’t control everything – and that attempts to try to will likely do more harm than good. 'Good enough parenting is best in that it allows kids to grow into the best version of themselves rather than be moulded to meet parental expectations.'The 70s and 80s: Toddler reins, dummies and breastfeeding is back Weighty parenting books became more mainstream in the 1970s and 80s, with many new parents gifted a copy of Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five, a manual written by psychologist Penelope Leach and published in 1978.The Infant Feeding Survey, which documented how babies were being fed across the UK, was first published in 1975, just two years before the baby formula scandal that changed perspectives on nursing. Companies, with the most high-profile being Nestle, stood accused of aggressively promoting formula milk in developing countries, advertising that was deemed to have directly harmed babies who weren't given their mothers' milk as a result. The controversy saw many mothers in the UK turning their backs on shop-bought milk in favour of breastfeeding once more. Statistics show that breastfeeding has risen dramatically since with around 64 per cent of women nursing in the mid-1980s, which rose to 81 per cent by 2010. The most recent figures, in 2024, show that around 86 per cent of women initiated breastfeeding their babies. Current NHS advice says: 'Breast milk provides your baby with nutrition, including vitamins and minerals, protects your baby from infections and diseases and provides health benefits for you.'The advice adds: 'Formula milk does not provide the same protection from illness and does not give you any health benefits.'When it comes to pacifying crying babies, the dummy was still a go-to in the 1970s and 80s. Although research was beginning to point towards the negative impacts of using a pacifier, including potential dental problems in later childhood and being too dependent on dummies for sleep, they were still very much all the rage during these decades.Another parenting aid that would also peak in these decades was reins. Many adults who grew up in that period might remember being hoiked back from danger as toddlers via the harnesses strapped around their chest. While you can still buy them at major high street stores – John Lewis sells a set for £8 and toddler luggage brand Trunki has a 'Toddlepak' safety reins version for £20 – the device is now considered out of touch with modern parenting techniques, with detractors claiming they're akin to a dog leash for humans, and encourage 'lazy' parenting. The 90s and 00s: The 'Queen of routine' and baby-led weaning Gina Ford's The Contented Little Baby Book became a hit after its release in 1999, and while her strict tips are largely contradicted by current NHS advice, the Scottish ex maternity nurse still has plenty of fansThe Contented Little Baby Book wasn't officially released until 1999 but ex maternity nurse Gina Ford's word-of-mouth hit was already dominating conversations among both pregnant women and new parents in the years before. The Scottish author's militant approach to sleep schedules – including not looking at your child after 10pm – helped many parents secure sleep, but probably stressed out plenty of others whose newborns simply wouldn't play ball. Gina Ford's tips for getting a baby to sleep Feed your baby to a strict timetableDo not let your baby sleep past 7amEnsure your baby sleeps in a very dark and quiet roomLet your baby cry for up to 12 minutes before it goes to sleep each nightAvoid making eye contact with your baby after 10pmDo not cuddle your baby to sleep during feedingDo not let your baby share your bedFord's approach centred around the idea that babies should be left to 'cry it out' for up to 12 minutes in the hopes they would learn how to self-soothe. Kate Winslet and Jamie Oliver's wife Jools were once among her celebrity fans, and plenty of parents will still tell you that they raised 'Gina babies' who thrived on routine.Ex-Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg wasn't a fan though. Sir Nick evoked the wrath of Ford in 2012 when he said he refused to use The Contented Little Baby Book after trying it with his eldest son Antonio.He described how, on one fraught night, he and wife Miriam finally lost patience, saying: 'I will never forget – in the middle of the night Antonio woke up. Miriam said to me, "What does the book say?" I remember saying to her, "OK, we have got to stop this. I have subcontracted my parental instincts to this book".'Ford hit back, telling the Sunday Times later: 'Clegg may think that his comments are funny – and indeed they are, as he has just insulted the parenting choice of more than two million voters.' Current NHS advice is firmly distanced from the guru's 'firm-but-fair' methods though, saying: 'Allow yourself time to adjust to life with your newborn in the first few weeks. This is more important than worrying about what you should or should not be doing.'Dr Porter agrees, saying: 'We know from all the happiness gurus that "being in the moment" is the secret to happiness and yet we, as parents, constantly strive, push and curate our kids' childhoods. We focus on the outcome like our kids are a DIY project, rather than a human to relate to.' There was one other name that many parents swore by in the 1990s: Annabel Karmel. The Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner was first published in 1991 and developed with the Institute of Child Health at Great Ormond Street Hospital. It focused on baby-led weaning, with its make-at-home purees and dishes a hit with babies. Karmel remains a key voice in children's cookery and nutrition, with her original books going on to spawn a global empire. Her most popular recipes? My first chicken curry, chicken and apple balls and minced beef and vegetable casserole. The 2010s... up to now: An app for everything and gentle parentingDevices to rock your baby's pram are now a must-have for new parents... and apps such as Nara Baby, pictured right, are seen as essential for new mums and dads wanting to track sleep and feeding patternsTechnological leaps have meant parents can get real-time updates on their bundles of joy. Every minute of every day of their young lives is documented via apps such as Huckleberry or Nara Baby, with sleep, bowel movements, milk or food intake all recorded. Developmental milestones and encouraged pursuits such as 'tummy time' are also documented and it's not just parents who can log on as nannies, grandparents and caregivers can also log and monitor information.Similarly, breastfeeding apps help sleep-deprived parents track everything from ounces of milk pumped to feed times. Elsewhere, there's devices that many parents in the 1950s might now marvel at. Portable rockers clip onto buggies or prams and offer a continuous moving motion and baby monitors can send HD videos of your offspring across the world via app technology.Is knowledge power though? Or simply overwhelming? Psychotherapist and hypnotherapist Marygrace Anderson, founder of MG Hypnosis, tells the Daily Mail that while it should be easier than ever to parent, it really isn't.She says: 'Psychologically, in today's world, the pressure and information overload can make it very easy to feel that everybody else is doing it better, or that there is a "right" way to parent that you somehow haven't discovered yet. It can easily feel overwhelming and confusing, with lots of conflicting information and guidance for new parents to consider.'Parents need to feel supported, connected and able to cope with a newborn, and parents' needs during this special time are also important. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your baby is to take some of the pressure off yourselves. 'One simple tip is to limit where you get your parenting advice from. Choose a few sources you trust rather than trying to take in everything you see and hear, or everything that is suddenly on your radar because of the algorithm.' When it comes to routine and discipline for unruly toddlers, 'gentle parenting' – calmly explaining to a child the consequences of their behaviour, rather than getting angry and engaging in a shouting match – also took off around the pandemic, with social media awash with posts by parents who say it helped deescalate situations.However the approach, beloved of Millennial and Gen Z parents, which encourages adults to never raise their voice, is already fading, with a study published last year saying children who experience more 'authoritative' parenting do better at school up until the age of 11.