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Fathers better parents than mothers, says Pew Research Center
Filed under: Just For Moms, Just For Dads
As a father who writes for a parenting website with a number of very dedicated and capable mothers, I'm in no position to take sides on any "Moms vs. Dads" debates.
But after reading this new poll by the Pew Research Center, I have to admit, it's very tempting. The group surveyed 2,020 Americans, and found that people think today's fathers are doing a better job than today's mothers. 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, while only 47% feel that way about dads. Slightly more than 1-in-5 (21%) feel that dads are doing a better job, while only 9% said that was true for moms.
While I imagine those figures will be controversial, the Pew results also noted some trends that most parents will likely agree on. Namely, that's it harder to be a parent than it was in the 1970s or 80s. 70% of respondents say that today's moms have a tougher job than their predecessors, and 60% say the same is true for fathers. And -- by far -- the number one problem for today's parents is the influence of modern society -- drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, and the impact of television/media were listed as primary concerns.
What's interesting, isn't that fathers actually are better than mothers, or that anyone is doing a worse job of parenting today than people did 30 years ago (these results are based solely on people's opinions, after all), but that the American public thinks dads are doing a better job. For whatever reason, it seems that even though we all recognize the sames problems in raising our children -- we continue to think that whenever something goes wrong, mothers are to blame.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2007 @ 6:48PM
Uly said...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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6-18-2007 @ 4:51PM
Matthew Miller said...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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6-18-2007 @ 5:01PM
Ethel said...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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6-18-2007 @ 5:06PM
Lauren Bush said...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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6-18-2007 @ 5:36PM
Jami said...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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6-18-2007 @ 6:02PM
trkcb1 said...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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6-18-2007 @ 7:33PM
kp said...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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6-20-2007 @ 12:57PM
Tracy said...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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6-18-2007 @ 10:36PM
rf said...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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9-21-2007 @ 4:43PM
MS said.... 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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