Scientific Parenting? What Parents Worry about and What Sources of Information They Use

Abstract

Scientists note that the dominant ideology for raising children today is intensive parenting. One of the key prerequisites underlying this ideology is that inchild-rearing a parent should be guided by expert knowledge. In this context, educational programs for parents and parental self-education are being actively developed. However, the informational inquiries of parents have not been sufficiently studied. What sources do parents use? At which points is information about the upbringing of children most needed? In this paper we look at what sources of information related to children (education, health, etc.) parents use and what questions they are concerned about. The paper is based onan online survey of mothers and fathers of children aged from one to 12 years. We show that the intensity of use of different sources of information is related to the age of a child: one can single out peaks of "confusion" associated with certain stages in a child's life: the first six months of her or his life and the 6–7 year old age (preparation for school), with a relatively calm period (when a child is 4–5 years old) between them.