Does Higher Income Make Better Parents? New Survey Shows Link Between Family Income And Parenting Style

There are different kinds of parenting styles. Some parents are strict while some are lenient. Some have high expectations while some do not demand too much from their children. Some parents spend a lot of time nurturing their kids while some prefer to let their children learn on their own and be independent.

According to a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, there is a strong link between family income and parenting style. The survey, which involved over 1,800 parent participants from the U.S. with children younger than 18-years-old, finds that parents with lower income are stricter and provide less extracurricular activities and preschool or day care center experience for their children. However, being more lenient and providing extracurricular activities and preschool experience for kids do not necessarily result in positive child outcomes.

The reason why parents with lower income are stricter than those with higher income is because of their higher level of fear when it comes to their children's saferty and security. "For example, higher-income parents are nearly twice as likely as lower-income parents to rate their neighborhood as an "excellent" or "very good" place to raise kids (78% vs. 42%)," the research shows. The survey also shows that 40 percent of lower-income parents are worried that their children will get into trouble with the authorities compared to only 21 percent from the higher-income parents.

For the extracurricular activities, 52 percent of parents with less than $30,000 annual income find it more difficult to provide after-school activities for their kids compared to only 29 percent of parents with an income of at least $75,000. For the preschool and day care center experience, 57 percent of parents with an income of less than $30,000 rely on family members to provide learning for their little kids. Hence, 66 percent of parents with an income of at least $75,000 take their kids to preschool or day care centers.

However, a separate study conducted by the National Survey of America's Families and reported by Urban Institute finds that having higher income is not related to positive parenting results. "Job characteristics, such as access to family leave and flexible work schedules, may have more of an effect on parenting and child well-being than levels of work," the research concludes.