In 2023, Pew Research Center published a survey of 3700 parents asking what it’s like to parent in the United States today. Here are some of the results:

Their Experience of Parenting

Parenting is an important part of their identity – the most (30%) or one of the most (57%) important aspects to who they are as a person. The percentage who say it’s the most important range – 35% of mothers say this vs. 24% of fathers. Black (42%) and Hispanic (38%) parents are more likely than White (25%) or Asian (24%) parents to say the same.

Parenting is hard – 62% say being a parent is at least somewhat harder than they expected, with 26% saying it’s been a lot harder. 41% say it’s tiring; 29% say it is stressful all or most of the time.

But I’m excited to see that most are feeling successful: 64% saying they do an excellent or very good job as a parent; 32% say they do a good job, while just 4% say they do an only fair or poor job. And 80% say it is rewarding and enjoyable most of the time.

It Gets Better

Parents of children 5 and older are less likely to say parenting is stressful and tiring than those with younger children.

What are their hopes for their children?

Their top priority is that their children are financially independent, and that they have jobs they enjoy. A smaller percentage say it’s extremely important that their child earn a college degree, become a parent themselves or get married.

What are they worried about?

They worry about their child’s mental health, about them being harmed by others, and about drugs and alcohol. The illustration below shows all parents. In the report, they break it out by race, and you shouldn’t be surprised that lower income parents, and families of color have more worries.

Do They Want to Parent Like Their Parents Did?

Also check out this post on what parents said in response to the question: “compared with how you were raised, are you trying to raise your children in a similar way or a different way?”

Learn More

You might enjoy my posts on: creating a vision for what kind of parent you want to be, Parenting Style, and Self Care for Parents.