For an ordinary family living in Egypt, the Roman Empire, the middle ages and up to the 17th century was easy.
Those days were very common in many ways. Going to work or to war, getting some education as weeks, months and years were passing not much was happening with technology.
In fact, as technological advancements were achieved, ordinary families accepted its consequences usually through consecutive generations. It was a very slow process because means of communication and the ability to read and write was not widespread during those times. Centuries for most humans were very similar. Not too many news. To heat a home, finding and cooking food, improve or repair homes were the first necessities to be accomplished.
Now, close to 2020, we are facing another reality. During the last 200 years technological breakthroughs have been appearing at a logarithmic scale. Vapor, electricity, airplanes, computers, internet, cell phones, artificial intelligence. Technological advancements in computer sciences, biology, medicine, social media interaction and all major fields are requiring our kids to know more things at a younger age.
Some places are using 3D technology to teach our kids the position, functioning and relationship to other organs in the human body. Something that was taught during the first year of medical school. It is now usual that a 4 year old can enter YouTube and find some information for himself. Many parents with a technical career are going to be surpassed in information by their own children in less than a decade.
The best scenario are parents who try to keep up to date with whatever their children are learning, but they go so fast that a parent 40 years old would become as outdated as our great grandfather was to us.
It has to be taken into account that educating continuously adults is a priority that can not be delayed in the next 10 years. They could be considered a burden at a very young age (40) because they would not be able to process information to drive a vehicle, to understand warning signs, to take actions emanating from a code.
Discrimination of 40 years old parents is around the corner. Get ready to avoid its affects on you.