When Jessica Roberts fell ill as a child, her doting mother would let her fight the cold by ‘waiting it out’.
But fast forward to 2018, the now 27-year-old, from Melbourne, said the internet has turned her into a ‘Google doctor’ where she would even diagnose her own children.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the young mother-of-three explained how motherhood has changed over four generations in her family.
‘When one of us got sick, it wasn’t a big deal. Mum would say: “they’ll be fine, they’ll get over it”,’ Jessica told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In those days, parents would kind of let it resolve itself. If their children were sick, they would let them wait it out.
‘[For me] I have gone Google Doctor crazy so I tend to helicopter-parent my kids too much. That’s the influence of the internet and easily accessible information for you.
‘My mum thinks I’m a crazy helicopter-parent because I think everything my children touches, they will die,’ Jessica added, laughing.
Four generations: Mother Jessica Roberts (middle) with her mother Deearrn Hammond (left holding Jess’ daughter Scarlett, three) and grandmother Vicki Collings (right with Jess’ six-year-old daughter River)
The now 27-year-old mother said the internet has turned her into a ‘Google doctor’
Jessica explained how technology has dramatically changed overtime – with today’s parents turning to the internet for all their answers
Jessica, otherwise known as Modern Day Mumma on Instagram, explained how technology has dramatically changed overtime – with today’s parents turning to the internet for all their answers.
‘Today parents would go see a doctor or go hospital if their children have a temperature,’ she said.
And while she admits she gets carried away with the internet, her research has helped save her child’s life.
‘I think some parents can over prescribe their kids because of what they read on the internet. But my research helped me save one of my daughters who was misdiagnosed by a hospital,’ Jessica said.
‘I was telling the nurses and doctors it was pneumonia and she was in the final stages. They finally realised their mistake and ended up apologising and sending me flowers.’
The 27-year-old mother (pictured with her baby son Jagger) said she believed parents are more protective over their children because of the exposure to the stories they hear in the news
Jessica said she teaches her kids the same rules her mother taught her when she was younger
MEET THE FOUR GENERATIONS
Vicki Collings – Grandmother
Vicki and husband, Daryll who was an accountant, had four children, two boys and two girls.
The family grew up in the Eltham and Templestowe areas of Victoria. Vicki was mostly a stay at home mother but when her children were old enough she opened a shoe store business.
Deearrn Hammond – Daughter
Deearn had three children – Jess and two other boys. Deearrn and her partner moved their family to Noosa, Queensland in 2003.
Deearrn now lives in rural Victoria (Ballarat). She was also mostly a stay at home mum working on and off as a receptionist at a real estate agency.
Jess Roberts – Granddaughter
Jess has three children. Her husband Valence Roberts is a dentist in Victoria. The family lives in Beaumaris.
Great-Grandchildren
Jess’ three children – River, aged six, three-year-old Scarlett and eight-month-old Jagger
She said she believed parents are more protective over their children because of the exposure to the stories they hear in the news.
‘It puts a lot of stress on parents, and they are more fearful because you hear about the freak accidents, disabilities and illnesses,’ Jessica said.
‘I know I have the worst anxiety. You hear about a child choking to death on a ball or battery so you get rid of all the balls and batteries in your home.
Growing up on a rural property in Victoria’s Eltham in the 1990s, Jessica remembered how she and her younger brothers would play outside without adult supervision.
But she believed children of today no longer have that freedom.
‘We were always outside, climbing trees. We’d be out in the garden, and people would walk past,’ Jessica said.
‘We didn’t have any property security, looking back now, I’m surprised none of us got kidnapped.
‘When I was growing up in the 90s, it wasn’t really spoken out. Now you hear about stranger danger everywhere.’
Speaking about how parenting has shifted over the decades, Jessica remembered her mother teaching her about manners and respect.
‘My mum’s parenting was very laid back, and she taught us about manners and respecting your elders,’ she said.
‘We couldn’t call anyone he or she, it was always Mr or Ms [surname] if we were talking to any adults. Now, it’s just first names.
‘I have the same rules for my children too – I still do a lot of what my mother did with us. I teach them about manners and respecting their elders.’
Jessica admitted her parenting is far different from her other mother – as she describes herself as the helicopter parent
Growing up on a rural property in Victoria’s Eltham in the 1990s, Jessica remembered how she and her younger brothers would play outside without adult supervision – but children today don’t get the same freedom
Jessica recently met with her grandmother Vicki Collings and mother Deearrn Hammond to discuss how parenting has changed over four generations as part of Tommee Tippee’s Changing Times campaign.
Matriarch and grandmother Vicki, who has four children, said: ‘It’s never been easier to be a mother and there are too many distractions for the children.
‘We never had disposable nappies, nappy bins, nannies or apps at our fingertips to tell us how to mother or diagnose a sickness. We worked it out as we went along and we did just fine.
‘Our social activity involved sitting together and keeping everything simple while the kids played together. All this social media stuff can isolate mums.’
Her daughter Deearrn, who is Jessica’s mother, agreed, saying that for example expressing milk and being able to store it using breast pumps and bags has freed mums up to get out of the house and socialise.
‘I had three children. Sometimes I didn’t even know what day it was,’ Deearrn said.
‘I was locked in a never-ending role of being a mother and these days I feel like mums can get out more and live a more social life.’
Tommee Tippee is celebrating the changes mothers go through via hashtag #ttchangingtimes – as International Women’s Day arrives on Thursday March 8.