Immigrants are holding fast to their belief that America remains the land of opportunity, according to a new Public Agenda study. Majorities of immigrants report they become comfortable in the United States quickly, even as ties to their birth country have become stronger since we last surveyed immigrants in 2002.
Research Studies: Children & Families
A Place to Call Home: What Immigrants Say Now About Life in America
All Work and No Play?: Listening to What Kids and Parents Really Want from Out-of-School Time
In this survey of teens and parents, Public Agenda found the vast majority of students regularly participate in organized activities in their out-of-school time. Most students believe kids who participate are better off than those who don't. But there are stark differences in the experiences of low-income and minority parents, who are much more likely to say they have trouble finding high-quality, convenient and affordable activities for their children.
What Parents Are Saying About TV Today:
Based on Public Agenda's broader research on families, this analysis outlines parents' concerns about sex, violence, and profanity on TV and profiles some of the important differences among various groups of parents those with young children vs. those with teens, for example. It chronicles parents' sometimes frustrating efforts to regulate their own children's viewing and suggests why many of them are not as successful in this area as they hope to be. Parents say that television is an inescapable presence in society today, even as they worry about what their children learn from it.
A Lot Easier Said Than Done: Parents Talk About Raising Children in Today's America
A majority of parents surveyed say American society is an inhospitable climate for raising children, where parents can never let down their guard in the face of popular culture, drugs and crime.
Nearly half the parents we surveyed for "A Lot Easier Said Than Done" said that they worry more about protecting their child from negative social influences than they do about paying the bills or having enough family time together. Six in 10 rated their generation as either "fair" or "poor" in raising children.
Necessary Compromises: How Parents, Employers and Children's Advocates View Child Care Today
At a time when two-income families and single parents have become the norm, parents struggle with fears and concerns over who should care for their children, believing the primary responsibility of child care rests with them. Though employers say they are willing to help out, they worry about cost and liability issues. Child advocates, meanwhile, have a different vision of child care, one modeled on European national systems, in which the government helps parents shoulder the load. 2000.
Kids These Days '99:
The second in a series of studies to document Americans' attitudes towards the nation's youth. The results have changed little in two years with few adults or teens believing that the next generation will make America a better place. Parents, instead of social forces, are held accountable for how their children turnout. The consistency in the findings suggests how deep-seated American's anxieties about the next generation are. 1999.
Kids These Days: What Americans Really Think About the Next Generation
A comprehensive study of Americans' attitudes toward our nation's youth, including a special focus on the views of African-American, Hispanic and white parents. Will today's children, once grown, make this country a better place? Are parents teaching their kids right from wrong? What solutions do Americans propose to the problems children face? These questions, and what kids have to say, are addressed in this study. 1997.
Talking About Children:
This study examines the gap between the public's expressed concern for America's children and the realities for children at risk that citizens appear willing to live with. It is based on a series of focus groups in six cities across the nation. 1995.
I have told my children the truth about having children, and told them they do not have to have children. The truth is that people are initially all smiles and congratulations, cooing over the newborn. However, this soon turns to "will they make good parents?" When parents send them off to school it is assumed they are NOT good parents. Parents won't feed them nutritious meals, if at all. Parents won't make sure they see the dentist or doctor. And if they do send them to the doctor consequently missing more than five days of school, then those parents will receive a threatening letter about truancy. Because, of course, parents don't care if their child goes to school or learns. The police visit the schools to tell students about abuse, and social workers are paid by the schools to ferret out those horrible parents, exposing students to ideas of abuse they have never considered. Because the government believes they can raise children better than parents. Yet, who is the government? Is it not composed of people? People who are most likely parents? And there is your nice circular reasoning as even "the government" can be abusive toward children when placed in their care. I suggest we rethink our logic. Parenting is hard. We used to know that. Parents used to have the support of family, friends and the community to help raise children. Now, we have suspicion and condemnation. Those considering parenthood, should consider that they will be on the list of suspected criminals. Unless this attitude changes, perhaps prospective parents should just say "No."