Childhood and parenting in today's Britain
Mumsnet has joined forces with ITV1's Tonight programme to find out what really are the pressures facing children - and their parents - in today's Britain.
Do parents' working hours erode family time? Are children less safe than we were in our childhoods? Do they face too much media pressure about their appearance? And are they subjected to too many tests at school?
The results of the survey were explored in a Tonight special, Kids Under Pressure, on Tues 4 January at 7.30pm on ITV1.
Watch the programme here
What the papers say about the survey results
- Are we putting our kids under too much pressure? Sunday Telegraph, 2 Jan 2011
- Children have never had it harder, say their parents Telegraph, 3 Jan 2011
- Our children are working too hard and not playing enough, parents complain Daily Mail, 3 Jan 2011
| ITV Tonight Programme - Mumsnet Survey Dec 10 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tonight Programme on ITV have asked us to find out what parents think about a few issues to do with the pressures that children might face today. From what you have seen, read, heard about or experienced, please say to what extent you agree or disagree with the following statements about children in the UK today. PLEASE TICK ONE RESPONSE PER ROW. Base: all parents of at least one child. | |||||||
| Percents | Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know | Response Count |
| There is too much testing in schools today | 25% | 39% | 21% | 10% | 2% | 4% | 1006 |
| I used to play out on my own more when I was my chil(ren)’s age | 45% | 28% | 10% | 12% | 5% | 1% | 1006 |
| In general children nowadays don’t play out on their own enough | 27% | 51% | 13% | 7% | 1% | 1% | 1006 |
| These days, long working hours make it difficult for parents to spend enough time with their children | 25% | 50% | 14% | 9% | 2% | 0% | 1006 |
| In general parents nowadays fail to give their children proper boundaries for good behaviour, compared to when I was a child | 13% | 35% | 22% | 23% | 6% | 1% | 1006 |
| Changing family structures are tending to make children more unhappy | 9% | 32% | 31% | 20% | 5% | 2% | 1006 |
| Young people feel under pressure to look like the unrealistic images shown in the media | 35% | 50% | 9% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1006 |
| The increase in use of the internet has added problems to the lives of young people | 16% | 37% | 25% | 16% | 4% | 2% | 1006 |
| In general children nowadays are less happy than they were when I was a child | 4% | 20% | 37% | 28% | 7% | 3% | 1006 |
| Answered question | 1006 | 1006 | |||||
| Net agree and disagree | Net agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Net disagree | Don't know | Response Count | ||
| There is too much testing in schools today | 64% | 21% | 12% | 4% | 1006 | ||
| I used to play out on my own more when I was my child(ren)’s age | 72% | 10% | 17% | 1% | 1006 | ||
| In general children nowadays don’t play out on their own enough | 78% | 13% | 8% | 1% | 1006 | ||
| These days, long working hours make it difficult for parents to spend enough time with their children | 75% | 14% | 11% | 0% | 1006 | ||
| In general parents nowadays fail to give their children proper boundaries for good behaviour, compared to when I was a child | 48% | 22% | 29% | 1% | 1006 | ||
| Changing family structures are tending to make children more unhappy | 41% | 31% | 25% | 2% | 1006 | ||
| Young people feel under pressure to look like the unrealistic images shown in the media | 86% | 9% | 4% | 1% | 1006 | ||
| The increase in use of the internet has added problems to the lives of young people | 53% | 25% | 20% | 2% | 1006 | ||
| In general children nowadays are less happy than they were when I was a child | 25% | 37% | 35% | 3% | 1006 | ||
| Data | Strongly agree | Tend to agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Tend to disagree | Strongly disagree | Don't know | Response Count |
| There is too much testing in schools today | 250 | 393 | 207 | 100 | 16 | 40 | 1006 |
| I used to play out on my own more when I was my chil(ren)’s age | 448 | 277 | 104 | 117 | 49 | 11 | 1006 |
| In general children nowadays don’t play out on their own enough | 268 | 515 | 134 | 70 | 12 | 7 | 1006 |
| These days, long working hours make it difficult for parents to spend enough time with their children | 251 | 504 | 142 | 88 | 18 | 3 | 1006 |
| In general parents nowadays fail to give their children proper boundaries for good behaviour, compared to when I was a child | 133 | 349 | 226 | 228 | 64 | 6 | 1006 |
| Changing family structures are tending to make children more unhappy | 90 | 325 | 314 | 199 | 55 | 23 | 1006 |
| Young people feel under pressure to look like the unrealistic images shown in the media | 354 | 508 | 91 | 31 | 9 | 13 | 1006 |
| The increase in use of the internet has added problems to the lives of young people | 160 | 376 | 249 | 163 | 40 | 18 | 1006 |
| In general children nowadays are less happy than they were when I was a child | 43 | 204 | 370 | 282 | 73 | 34 | 1006 |
| Answered question | 1006 | 1006 | |||||
| 1,006 Mumsnet members who were the parent of at least one child completed an online survey on Mumsnet between 2-13 December 2010. A prize draw where one winner could win a laptop worth £650 was offered as an incentive. | |||||||