University of Queensland and QUT researchers are seeking Australian parents of children aged 5-12 years to take part in an online survey of how Australians are parenting their children in the 21st century.
The researchers aim to have at least 1000 parents complete the online survey, which is at:
http://survey.qut.edu.au/survey/169580/1ae7/
Parents can complete the survey as a once only or they can elect to be part of a follow-up survey in six month’s time.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.
The survey is being run by Drs Helen Stallman from the School of Medicine at The University of Queensland and Dr Jeneva Ohan from the School of Psychology and Counselling at Queensland University of Technology.
Dr Stallman said parents today were faced with raising their children in a much different society than they or their parents grew up in.
"Computers and internet use have become part of daily life," she said.
"Perceptions of neighbourhood safety is low, and the push to have children excel in academics and extra-curricular activities and go on to university has perhaps never been stronger.
"As a result, parents seem to be developing a different child-rearing culture than that seen in previous decades.
"For example, 40-50 years ago, parents used to give their children substantially more physical freedom in exploring their neighbourhood independently and more unstructured time with playmates.
"Today’s parents usually have fenced yards and are well-aware of their child’s whereabouts, often driving them to and from structured activities.
"Also, parents in the past have placed less emphasis on their child gaining university admission after high school as higher education was not deemed necessary for a productive career.
"Now, the reality is that a greater proportion of young adults have university-education than ever before, and parents are feeling the pressure to begin their child on the road to academic success at an early age."
Will parents’ attempts to provide their children with more structure and safety, and a more solid educational footing be of benefit to children? Or will such attempts ultimately take away feelings of responsibility from our children?
Dr Stallman said unfortunately, research had not kept pace with these marked changes in how today’s parents parent their children, so researchers did not know the answers to these questions.
"That is what we are trying to now do through our 'Parenting in the 21st Century' Australia-wide survey," she said.
Contacts: Dr Helen Stallman 334 61852 Dr Jeneva Ohan 3138 4544
