“Alexa, what’s the weather gonna be like today?” asked 7-year-old Charlotte. My friend told me her kids like to talk to their “sweet helper” before school. Based on its response, Charlotte decides whether to wear a jacket. Her little sister, Mae, enjoys their sweet helper too: “Alexa, play Let it Go.” These kids are part of Gen Alpha, the generation born between 2010 and 2024, growing up alongside social media, AI, and all things tech. It’s a lot different from how we were raised. And though there are plenty of great tech tools available, there will also be some challenges because of them.
Being aware of these tech challenges can help you parent your kids better as they grow. Here are 5 challenges Gen Alpha kids may face and what you can do to support them in this quickly changing digital landscape.
1. Developing Resilience When Things Get Tough
Computers are part of most kids’ school days. They use them for lessons, learning games, and free time. They’re useful and fun. But there are important developmental skills that kids need to learn off screens as well. “In general, members of Gen Alpha are showing early signs of a struggle to bounce back from challenges,” says Axis.org. With too much time on tech, kids get less time interacting with others and working through the problems that naturally arise in a typical school day. Problem-solving with other kids and teachers develops resilience.
Your role: Resilience is a teachable skill. Start by giving your child space to problem-solve and work through challenges on her own. If she gets frustrated, ask open-ended questions to guide her along, but don’t do the work for her. Kids need to build their resilience muscle. With time and practice, it’ll grow.
2. Making Close Friendships IRL
When there’s free time during the school day, or when your child has a friend over to play, what do the kids do? While playing online games is helpful for math skills, developing social skills is just as important. Kids need to learn how to empathize with others, communicate effectively, cooperate, and respect boundaries through real-life, off-screen experiences. They’re also the ingredients of good friendships.
Your role: Gen Alpha kids may need more of a push to get off screens and socialize in person. When they’re with peers, offer opportunities to get crafty or to play outside. Also, encourage your child to join a club or go down the street to ask another child to play. Taking initiative is a valuable skill for kids to learn early on.
3. Fighting the Brain Rot That Comes From Excessive Screen Time
A challenge for parents of Gen Alpha kids will be to limit their screen exposure and keep brain rot at bay. “Brain rot” was Oxford University Press’s 2024 word of the year. It’s “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” If you’ve heard your child say she’s “cooked” or “lowkey fried,” you’ve heard brain rot slang.
Your role: It’s impossible to eliminate screens in our lives, but we can work to reduce our kids’ dependence on them. We can break bad screen-time habits by setting limits and being good role models ourselves. With less tech use, they’ll have to find other ways to entertain themselves. And this might spark some creativity you haven’t seen before.
4. Growing a Longer Attention Span
Waiting in line at the grocery store. Waiting for a gift to arrive in the mail. Waiting a week for a new Netflix episode to come out. Did you know that waiting is a skill? And because we live in an age of instant gratification, some kids really struggle with it. A challenge for Gen Alpha kids is the shorter attention spans they’ve developed, largely because they were “born in a world of digital immediacy and access,” says Axis.org. Short-form content on TikTok and YouTube keeps their brains bouncing from one thing to the next.
Your role: Being able to focus for a longer period of time will help kids do better in school and will be good for their overall mental health. Kids need a “calm, focused mindset” for “optimal learning and wellbeing,” says Santa Maria College. We can help by encouraging brain breaks to get up, move around, and give their minds a rest. We can also encourage offline activities like reading, crafting, playing board games, and exploring nature—all of which require time and focus.
5. Staying Mentally Healthy
While there’s been a greater focus on mental health regarding Gen Z, “initial research into Gen Alpha hints at a similar number [of kids reporting mental health issues] related to both depression and anxiety,” says Axis.org. Screen time is not all bad, but because our kids are so used to relying on tech, it’ll be a challenge for us to make sure they balance screens with other activities.
Your role: We can support our kids’ mental health by prioritizing consistent bedtimes, encouraging face-to-face interactions, and getting kids active. All of these things help ward off feelings of anxiety and depression.
If you’re raising a Gen Alpha kid, what do you think the biggest challenge will be?
