Raising Children in the US: How Parents Feel About It

What parents in America are saying about parenting nowadays is reflected in the first survey of its kind since 2015.

Overall, parents in the U.S. love the task of raising their children.

Most parents give themselves good grades on their hard work, and when they say hard, they mean it, as 62 percent said parenting is harder than expected, Deseret News reported.

However, part of parenting can be worrying a lot about the children. And, nowadays, the No. 1 of their parental worries is their kids' mental health.

Four out of ten American parents with kids younger than 18 expressed that they are "extremely or very worried" that their kids might battle depression or anxiety at some point, as an effect of COVID-19 and with the growing mental health crisis, not only in the country but all over the world.

Moreover, 35 percent of parents worry more that their children will experience being bullied as compared to physical threats, drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy, and getting into trouble with authorities.

Being a parent is rewarding

All these data were revealed in a new survey by Pew Research Center released on Tuesday. The study focused on parenting practices in America by examining how adults with minor children feel about being parents and weighing in on, among other topics, parental worries, parenting approaches, and parents' goals and aspirations for their children.

Pew interviewed 3,757 parents with children younger than 18 from Sept. 20 to Oct. 2, 2022, emphasizing that the survey is nationally representative of gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, and other factors.

"We had a series of questions asking parents to think about how parenting makes them feel. A majority of parents say being a parent is rewarding, enjoyable - at least most of the time. But there are a substantial share saying that it's tiring and stressful," shared Pew research associate and study co-author Rachel Minkin. She did the survey with co-author Juliana Horowitz, the associate director of research at the center.

According to Minkin, the last time Pew did a survey to reflect on parenting in America was back in 2015. She believes these new data are significant since a lot has happened worldwide since 2015. Being aware of how the changes affected parenting and its approaches can be helpful for society to know where parents need more support and assistance.

Financial independence, career satisfaction, equally most important

More mothers expressed that parenting feels rewarding despite being much more challenging than they expected compared to fathers.

More than 50 percent of parents believed that being a parent is one of the most critical aspects of who they are, while 30 percent said it is an essential aspect. More mothers believe in this than fathers.

When asked about their parenting styles, the survey showed that parents often do not adhere to a specific parenting style. However, 45 percent of parents expressed that they are overprotective compared to the 20 percent who said they give too much freedom to their children. Thirty-five percent said they give in too quickly, while 30 percent are on the opposite side of sticking to their guns too much. Twenty-six percent believe in praising their children, compared to 20 percent of parents who criticize their children more. Thirty percent push their children hard enough, while 25 percent say they push them too hard.

Further, the survey revealed that roughly nine out of ten parents consider financial independence equally important as career satisfaction for their children. About 41 percent of parents want their children to earn a college degree, while only 20 and 21 percent place importance on their children becoming parents and getting married, respectively.