Actually, this poll doesn't say any such thing -- the numbers you're comparing aren't comparable, since they're against different baselines -- mothers now vs. mothers then, and fathers now vs. fathers then.

And that overall, people have a very low opinion of today's parents, both mothers and fathers. Today's mothers are compared even more harshly against the previous generation -- but that may just be because the respondents have a higher respect for the moms of 20-30 years ago than for the dads.

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I do think that dads are doing a far better job today then they did when I was a child, they are far more involved with their kids. Those stupid videos of dads gagging at changing their own kid's diaper aside, dads are putting energy into being a more full parent - and our kids are going to benefit.

And I think people have a habit of being overally nostalgic of the past. I am pretty sure that parenting techniques have gotten much better in the last 20-30 years, and I bet it will get even better again in the next 20-30 years.

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Jonathon (author of article) can't read very well. He is grossly misquoting the survey results which say nothing about comparing mothers to fathers. It has to do with comparing today's mothers to mothers 20 years ago, and comparing today's fathers to fathers 20 years ago. BAD MISQUOTE JONATHON. GO BACK TO SCHOOL. THIS IS VERY IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM.

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Nice inflammatory headline you're rockin' there, Jonathon, but it's based on Faulty Logic. 56% of people think mothers are doing a worse job than they did 20-30 years ago, while 47% feel that dads are doing a worse job than before; those statistics do NOT equate to people believing fathers are better parents than mothers. If, in fact, women are doing a worse job at parenting than they were 20-30 years ago, they can STILL be doing a better job today than are men. Who says men are better at math?? That's what's wrong with the United States (and the world)~too many people can't think rationally...it's also why you'll never be a member of Mensa.

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I am a mother or as I call it a Mommy of a wonderful 5 year old boy. I think I am a great Mommy who spends much time with my son, educating him and preparing him for the world. I could never ever compare myself though to mothers of 30 years ago. This day and age, more and more mothers are working full time jobs, not just the fathers. More families need 2 incomes to successfully survive, and become homeowners etc. So am I a great mommy? Yes, am I better or worse than the Moms of years ago? NO however I am different than they are

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You are potentially misreading the research.

The research says that Americans think dads are doing a better job than they used to, and that moms are doing a worse job than they used to. It does not say that Americans think that dads are currently doing a better job than moms are.

Let's assign fake grades to these. If the average American thinks dads 20 years ago were doing a C- job, and now they're doing a B job, that's improvement. If they also think that moms used to be doing an A- job, and now they're doing a B+ job - that's *not* improvement. But the average American in this situation would still judge today's mom as doing a better job than today's dad.

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what amazes me is how quickly women jump on the defense in a situation like this. i agree there is mis-representation of facts here, but heaven forbid it be true! are you gals feeling a little guilty?

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Great presentation of logical fallacies in thsi article. The article was not saying that fathers are better than mothers...it says that today's fathers are better than those of 20 - 30 years ago. It also indicates taht today's mothers are doing a worse job than 20 - 30 years ago (more mothers in the work place maybe). One thing...what about all the deadbeat dads...how do the rank in this survey?

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re: #7

i would point out that the first respondant to this article (who disagreed with its assertions, as well) is male. the comments aren't shrieking over how women are supposedly unappreciated as parents/homemakers, but are reasonably pointing out faulty logic. heaven forbid women speak rationally about science.
"You are potentially misreading the research." (from Uly's earlier post) -- not exactly a knee-jerk defensive reaction. don't be a hater, dude.

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. Quote from article:In fact, more than half (56%) of those polled felt moms are doing a worse job now than they were 20 or 30 years ago,"

OK. I think this has nothing to do with "drugs" or "peer pressure" "impact of media" ect. 20, 30 years ago, most children were HOME REARED. They weren't farmed out to elderly relatives or Institutional "Day Care" Centers. Of course, there have always been parents who can't hack it, and expect other to do their work for them, while they have better things to do with their time, but if one looks at Reality, the "Peer Pressure" of the 40s or the 50s was stronger on parents than it is today. There was little room for self expression or being "different" one did what everyone else did, because they were expected to, or because some like it that way.

None the less, children in the first half of the 20th century were raised by their MOTHERS in most cases. If you aren't THERE than I think that a mother who IS there would be thought, by most, to, of course, be a better "mother."

Helen Gurely Brown lied to us. You can't "have it all." So, when moms have better things to do than raise the children they brought into the world, their children, and the mother's "reputations" suffer.

I, like some of the other commentators, don't see how this says that Dads make better parents, though. Just that some people think some Dads are doing better than 30 years ago. Heck, yeah! Dad now, in many households, has FULL TIME help with the Income he should be bringing in, with Mom working outside the home, so maybe he has time to change a few more diapers. However, how this is better for the children, with many Moms attempting to work TWO Full Time Jobs (one for pay, and one raising the kids) are not succeeding.

It's a sad situation. Women need to take their place, as Mothers BACK. And we can't do that, if we have "better things to do" with our time, or if we accept partners who can't earn a living for an entire family.

Something has to give. Our children are the ones suffering.

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