I am a parent of a 7 year old. The expectations I place on him are to work hard when faced with a task, and don't give up too easily. In terms of activities, the only requirements are swimming (as a life skill, not as a competition), and some kind of musical exposure (something I feel I lacked as a child). He is also required to keep screen time to a reasonable level.

Otherwise, he is free to play when he wants in an unstructured way, be as creative as he wants building things at his own volition, and is super independent.

However, I am still completely floored at his knowledge of the world compared to my wife and I at his age. I recall in grade 1 being just generally dazed and confused. My son and his peers just know so much more about the world due to technology that it is honestly mind-boggling. It is like speaking with little adults sometimes. Obviously the emotional maturity is still that of a 7 year old (actually I would say lower for my son), but his grasp on reality is extremely mature, and I don't think he is the exception.

I believe technology has changed our children completely. They are smarter than ever before, and yearn for more constantly (as we do, addicted to information on our devices). My son is constantly pressuring me to "teach him to code" and I have not said a word about it, or given in to that request yet as I think he needs more time to just play and explore the natural world.

I can only conclude that things have changed drastically for children, and it is hard to keep up. There are obviously go-getter parents out there, wanting their kids to be superstars, but I don't know if that is the general trend.