Family Study:
Kids Worry About Working Parents

Excerpted from Report on Preschool Programs,
November 24, 1999

This survey of children may give parents and child care providers some surprising insight into the views of youngsters in working families.

At least one-third of children worry about their parents on a regular basis, particularly the adult’s ability to balance work and family, said the study, Ask the Children: What America’s Children Really Think About Working Parents, by Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute.

Speaking in New Orleans before the annual meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Galinsky said her findings differ from conventional wisdom about children and parents. Asked to make a “wish list” for their families, only a small group of children wanted more time with their parents. But more than half wished their parents had less stressful lives.

“Kids don’t think we like our jobs,” Galinsky said, and parents bring that dissatisfaction home after work. “Children are learning about the world of work,” she added — but not necessarily in a constructive way.

Among approximately 1,000 children in the survey, only 10 percent said their number one wish was more time with their mothers. Another 15 percent identified more time with dad as their top wish. However, 34 percent wanted their mothers to be less stressed, while 27.5 percent had a similar goal for their fathers.

About one-fourth of children wanted their parents to earn more money, based on the survey results. Galinsky attributed this finding in part to greed among some youngsters, but parents’ rationale for working — that the family needs the money — is another factor. Children may believe that “earning more money would reduce family stress,” she said.

Different Views of Family Time

Galinsky’s survey also found that children and parents had different views of family time. While 53 percent of parents said they had too little time for their kids, only 31 percent of kids said they had too little time to spend with parents. Moreover, children who wanted more time with parents were almost equally divided between those who sought more time with mothers and those seeking more time with fathers. Furthermore, “kids know more about mom’s work than about dad’s,” she said.

Most children did say their parents encouraged them to achieve and were quick to become involved in school activities. The surveys of children and families also showed that researchers “can’t tell much about kids based on whether their mothers work,” Galinsky said.

The Families and Work Institute president has published these results along with other research in the new book. So far some of the most attentive audiences for the book are corporations, and Galinsky has found a “real willingness” among businesses to help on work/family issues.

For the project, she talked with younger children as well as those through 12th grade. The project also included interviews with 605 working mothers and fathers.

Families and Work Institute, (212) 465-2044.

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