Parents take a broad approach when seeking trusted child-rearing advice

When today’s parents are looking for trusted advice, about half turn to a familiar source: their own moms.

That finding is one of several from a new survey of parents by the nonprofit Zero to Three. The organization reached out to about 2,200 parents of children ages 1 to 5, and also held eight online sessions to gather qualitative data about what it is like to raise children in a time of dramatic social change.

Parents are particularly looking for advice to support their children’s social-emotional development, help them with educational activities and discipline them effectively — all topics where early childhood educators may be helpful, said Rebecca Parlakian, Zero to Three’s senior director of programs.

In addition to the 49 percent of respondents who said that trusted advice comes from their mothers, 37 percent said they turn to their partners for that advice, and 35 percent named health care professionals as their primary source of trusted advice.

But parents are also turning to other, newer sources, such as social media and artificial intelligence. About 18 percent of respondents say they get advice from artificial intelligence, and of those parents, 76 percent found that advice helpful.

“When I put that all together, what that says to me is that parents today are not relying on any sole source to define their parenting,” Parlakian said. “They have had to learn how to weigh information based on how well aligned it is with their personal beliefs, their practices, their family values, and the kind of childhood that they want to offer their kids.”

Parents in the survey also said they are looking for programs such as paid parental leave, universal pre-K, and policies around social media and AI content regulation.

“Screen time is such a pain point and they’re really looking for some support that isn’t just them spending their time as mediators,” Parlakian said.

Contact editor Christina A. Samuels at 212-678-3635 or samuels@hechingereport.org

This story about parents was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.