Parents feeling confident, supported but time poor, survey finds

MOST mums and dads feel confident, healthy and supported, but they struggle to find time to read to or play with their children.

Belinda Small reading to her sons Jack and Noah. Picture: Jay Town

MOST mums and dads feel confident, healthy and supported, but they struggle to find time to read to or play with their children.

Nearly 30 per cent of parents smack their kids and one in 10 yells a lot, according to a Parenting Research Centre survey of 2600 Victorians.

The survey, funded by the state government, reveals that 2 per cent of parents say they smack their children “quite a lot or very much”.

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But the Royal Australasian College of Physicians says smacking can have adverse long-term consequences,Psychologist Warren Cann, CEO of the Parenting Research Centre, said he was “pleased to see more positive parenting strategies in use by parents such as talking through issues and using ­encouragement”.

“From time to time parents yell or smack, but there is a greater openness to other ways of doing things,” he said.

Two out of five parents think they are too impatient, particularly parents of two to five-year-olds. In addition, nearly three in 10 want to be more consistent in their approach and think they are sometimes too critical.

Mr Cann said these findings reflect the fact that “parenting is a 24/7 job requiring every ounce of a parents’ ability to self regulate”.

“It’s a tough job and sometimes parents don’t have the patience they would like.”

Another challenging issue for 70 per cent of parents of teenagers is the time their children spend on devices.

More than a quarter of parents of teens said they were not aware of where their children were at all times.

Sleep is also an issue, with 36 per cent of parents saying their children’s sleep is a problem for them — including 50 per cent of those with babies and toddlers, and a third of parents of teens.

Over a third of parents in the survey — including 40 per cent of dads — also said they were dissatisfied or had mixed feelings about the time they gave their children.

This is reflected in the finding that nearly half of parents don’t play music or indoor games with their kids, and more than half don’t play outside with them.

Airport West mother of two Belinda Small identified with the frustration over sleep issues given that her two boys are six and nearly two.

“I also understand the technology issue. My older son is always wanting to spend time on the iPad,” she said. The creator of smallideas.com.au, a website full of things for parents to do, “gets out and about every day”, and always finds time to read to sons Noah and Jack.

Resources for parents can be found at raisingchildren.net.au

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