Survey: Parents doubt their skills
Appeared in CNN.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Sixty-one percent of parents rate their generation as
"fair" or "poor" at raising children, according to a study the results of
which suggest that parents are struggling with instilling values in their
kids. The findings are part of a nationwide survey of parents conducted by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan think tank. The survey found respondents indicating that there may be big gaps between parents' efforts to teach good values to their children and their perceived success in doing so. •Eighty-three percent of those polled said it is "absolutely essential" to teach self-control and self-discipline. •But only 34 percent of the respondents said they have succeeded in teaching those values. •Ninety-one percent of those asked said it is essential to teach honesty. •But only 55 percent of them said they have succeeded in doing so. •The report also found that 53 percent of parents surveyed believe they are doing a worse job than their own parents did. "This study suggests that, despite the efforts parents are making, they're having trouble," said Deborah Wadsworth, the president of Public Agenda. "They have no difficulty laying out a vision of the values they think essential to impart to their child, but succeeding at the job is another matter." The study, titled "A Lot Easier Said Than Done," was based on telephone interviews conducted between July 31 and August 15 with a random sample of 1,607 parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 17. The margin of sampling error was 3 percentage points.
 
October 30, 2002.
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