Caught Between Eras: The Elder Millennial Dad Experience

I’m an Elder Millennial. I grew up in the Napster, ICQ and Myspace era. We spent long days outside, drank from the hose and knew smoking was bad—but we also knew the internet had dangers, like strangers you should never give your address to. And of course, nothing ruined your chat room vibe faster than your sister picking up the phone mid dial-up.

We’re not quite the “participation trophy” generation people tease our kids about, but we’re also not from the “what happened to little Johnny? He never made it back from ’Nam” era of our grandparents. We sit somewhere in between—raised in flux.

We understand the internet, yet can hold a face-to-face conversation. We text nearly as fast as our kids, but we also remember jingles from TV commercials. We recall when Tom Green was a rapper, and when Drake was in a wheelchair on Canadian after-school TV.

This middle ground has its challenges. Some of us caught the last wave of affordable home ownership; others stumbled through “buy now, pay later” traps while learning financial independence. We lived through the infancy of the influencer era with Paris Hilton while still being able to afford groceries and gas without a side hustle.

We all arrived here differently. And as parents, we carry expectations that don’t always match reality. If you don’t own a four-bedroom home with two cars in the garage, that’s okay. If you can’t coach every hockey practice and pay for three Instagram-worthy vacations a year, that’s okay too. You haven’t failed.

What matters most is showing up. Your kids won’t remember the car you drove or the square footage of your house. They’ll remember that you cared enough to be there. They’ll remember you working overtime to cover braces, even if you watched the ball game later on a shaky iPhone video. They’ll remember the affordable family trip where you laughed and made memories, without worrying about the balance on the AmEx after.

As Jessie J reminded us back in 2011: “It’s not about the price tag.” It’s about presence, love and striving to be the best version of yourself.

 

Jeremy McCall is a married father of 3, a social services case manager, and known as “The Dadfather”, being the founder and Past President of Dad Club London.