In the first episode of Season 3, titled, How the Times Change Perspective, Heather meets with Dan and Erik, Baby Boomers who both attended the Intergenerational Dinner hosted by the CHLL team in Heber, Utah on June 27, 2023.  They share their experiences as members of the Baby Boomer generation, their reflections on intergenerational families, and the generational experiences of Baby Boomers that have shaped and influenced their lives.

Erik shares about growing up in an intergenerational jewish family in Los Angeles.  The group discusses how expectations for a linear life path of education, job and growing a family have  changed and shifted over decades.

Dan reflects on social changes that occurred during the Baby Boomers formative years:

“Divorce  became much more common in our generation because of the economic changes. It's   an incredible stress to think of surviving on your own even if it's a time of prosperity. But I think part of why divorce became more common is because the survival of the individual was no longer threatened as much, with the war and the depression over.”

The group reflects on what they consider to be major generational shifts.  The so-called Silent Generation was the “we” generation.  Women went to work in the factories, while men went off to war in a fight against fascism.  Everyone was expected to pitch in. Baby Boomers were the “me” generation, enjoying an affluent period where individuals carved new social and moral norms, resisted the draft, and engaged in public protests.  They told their children, the millennials, that they could have anything they wanted and be whatever they wanted to be.  But the millennials have grown into a time of economic and environmental uncertainty, limiting the opportunities their parents enjoyed.

Resources: 

Generations Over Dinner