Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Parenting in America
Parents with higher and lower incomes don’t always share the same concerns
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- Parenting in America
- Parents’ view of their neighborhood differs sharply by income
- More concern about violence, teenage pregnancy among lower-income parents
- For U.S. kids, strong link between parents’ marital status and likelihood of living in poverty
- Millennial moms give themselves high marks
- Most parents want others to see them as good parents
- A gender gap in parenting styles
- Most college graduates say too much parental involvement in a child’s education can be a bad thing
- Kids of higher-income parents are more likely to be in extracurricular activities
- Use of spanking differs across racial and education groups
- Key differences in parental concerns across racial lines
- For children, growing diversity in family living arrangements
- The two-parent household in decline
- Black children and those with less educated parents less likely to be living in two-parent households
- One-in-six kids is living in a blended family
- Among women, fertility is declining
- Among Hispanics and the less educated, bigger families
- The decoupling of marriage and childbearing
- For the less educated, more births outside of marriage
- Among mothers, rising labor force participation
- In four-in-ten families, mom is the primary breadwinner
- Parents’ view of their neighborhood differs sharply by income, race
- Meeting basic expenses much more challenging for single parents
- Parents who live comfortably give themselves higher ratings for parenting
- Millennial moms give themselves high marks for parenting
- About 9-in-10 parents say it matters “a lot” that spouse or partner sees them as a good parent
- For most, being a parent is central to their identity
- Parents of young children find parenting more enjoyable, rewarding
- Mothers, more than fathers, find being a parent tiring
- Parents who always feel rushed are more tired, stressed than other parents
- Many parents say they spend too little time with kids, partners, friends
- Most full-time working moms say they don’t have enough free time for friends, hobbies
- Moms, more than dads, turn to family and friends for parenting advice
- Half of college-educated moms get advice from parenting websites, books, magazines
- Black and Hispanic parents are more likely to see kids’ successes and failures as a reflection of their parenting
- Most parents say they can be overprotective at times
- Parenting styles across generations
- Parents are divided on how they view their children’s successes and failures
- Few parents say they spank their kids often as a way to discipline
- Honesty, compassion, hard work trump financial independence, ambition when it comes to parents’ hopes for their kids
- Mothers and non-white and lower-income parents place more importance on college degrees
- Six-in-ten parents worry their children might be bullied at some point
- Parents with higher and lower incomes don’t always share the same concerns
- Parental concerns vary across racial and ethnic groups
- Parents say kids should be at least 10 to be alone at home or in public without adult supervision
- One-in-five separated or divorced parents say they disagree with children’s other parent often
- Most parents generally agree that kids shouldn’t feel bad about poor grades as long as they try hard
- Many would be disappointed if their children got poor grades
- Low-income parents slightly more likely to say they don’t put enough pressure on their kids to do well in school
- About half say parents could never be too involved in their kids’ education
- About six-in-ten black parents wish they could be more involved in their kids’ education