Selected numbers from parent survey Selected numbers from parent survey (January 07, 2004)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

A nationwide 2002 poll of 1,005 parents by the Minneapolis-based Search Institute and the YMCA found that 53 percent did not seek advice in raising their children. Of those who did ask for help, extended families were the resource most often used, followed by friends and the community. Only 4 percent used all three resources.

The survey found that parents with strong relationships with their spouses or partners more often felt successful as parents. About half of parents polled said they felt unprepared as parents, about the same number who reported not having strong relationships at home.

A 1997 survey cited in the Search Institute study found that 78 percent of American adults say that parenting is much harder today than it used to be. About half of adults polled said they think that many children's problems are the fault of irresponsible parenting, particularly on the part of baby-boomer parents.

Of the parents surveyed for the study, 85 percent were white, 11 percent were African-American and 4 percent were Latino. At both M-A and Woodside, Latino and white student populations each come in at about 42 percent. The African-American, Asian and Pacific Islander populations at the schools are all below 10 percent.

The report, called "Building Strong Families," can be found by clicking on the "More Information for Families" link at search-institute.org/families. Results cited in the report have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

A 2003 report from the nonprofit American Youth Policy Forum found that parental involvement is a greater predictor of academic success than economic status, parent education level and ethnicity or race.

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