Parenting Australia

New mothers, older parents
Today’s new mothers are nearly a decade older than their mothers were when they had their first child. In 1966, the median age of mothers at first birth was 23 years while today it is almost 31! Not only does this increase significantly contribute to a greater age difference between children and their parents, but it also increases the age difference between children and their grandparents.

Based on these averages, women in the 1960’s were grandmothers in their 40’s while today’s new mothers will have to wait until their 60’s to be grandmothers for the first time. Further highlighting the changed life stages of today is the fact that half of all Australians in their 20’s are still living in the parental home and the average age of leaving home is now 24. Meet the KIPPERS generation (Kids In
Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings).

“Social changes that have emerged over the last few decades have created the first ‘sandwich generation’ – that is those Australians sandwiched between the need to care for their dependent children and the responsibility of caring for their older parents” states Mark McCrindle. “Today’s twenty-something’s are delaying the traditional adult milestones of marriage, children, career and mortgage more than ever before. Never before have a generation of parents been
approaching their 60’s while still providing financial and personal support to their children.”

Fewer children, busier mums
Currently, more than half of the women giving birth are stopping at one or two children, keeping overall fertility below the replacement rate of 2.1 babies per woman. Even as late as 1971 Australia had a birth rate (Total Fertility Rate) of 3 babies per woman. Today this birth rate has almost halved to 1.8. Interestingly it is higher than it was in 2001 when Australia recorded the lowest birth rate ever
(1.72). Note that the baby bonus (version 1) was introduced that year and available from July 2002 and since then the birth rate has increased 7%.

The participation of women in the workforce has grown significantly over the last two decades. 65% of all adult Australians are in the labour force and for females the participation is not far behind the average at 58%. Yet while their participation in paid
work has increased, their unpaid domestic and child carer role has not decreased. Females take responsibility for 71% of all home and child care duties.

“Biologically the average woman has around 20 years of fertility yet in the 21st Century most Australian begin their families in the last quarter of their fertile years.” states Mark McCrindle. “One reason for the fewer number of children per woman today is simply that many run out of time. The timeless biological realities have not conformed to our changing social norms.”

Parenting challenges in the 21st Century
Four out of 5 respondents believe that we have more rebellious teens on our hands than ever before. One third of these respondents said a lack of discipline from an early age was to blame. 4 in 5 believe it is more difficult to parent teens today, and
3 out of 5 respondents believe there is less community support than in the past for parents.

To Smack or not to smack
More than 9 in 10 adult respondents were smacked as children, and 2 in 3 still agree with smacking in certain contexts. However even amongst the parents who agree with smacking there is a low level of commitment to it.

Most viewed corporal punishment as socially undesirable and believed there was strong social pressure to abstain from smacking. Indeed most respondents stated that for this reason they would not smack their child in a public place.

Rising insecurity in parents
Interestingly this feeling of social pressure, conflicted choices and insecurity comes right at the time when the amount of parenting advice and parenting experts has risen dramatically. 1 in 3 parents have sought parenting advice using the
internet, most have read or accessed a book on parenting, and most have read a magazine or publication on parenting advice.

“In our parenting research we found that there is more information than ever, yet less personal advice or help than ever. Parents don’t need an expert or another research study as much as they need a friend or family member to offer some encouragement and maybe a helping hand” said
Mark McCrindle. “They felt swamped by their busy lives, undermined by advertising and entertainment that targets their children and was at odds with their values, and judged by a society that calls on parents to better control their children while removing some of the tools in their parenting toolkit”.

Concerns and challenges
Regarding children under 12: bullying, peer pressure and the influence of advertising and media were the three biggest concerns of parents. Over a third of parents believe that counteracting the
negative influences of peers and television is their biggest challenge as parents.

Surprisingly though, respondents were least concerned about the physical (10%), mental (12%) and spiritual health (12%) of their children. This comes at a time when an unprecedented 1 in 5
Australian teenagers now suffer with a psychological disorder, 20-25% are obese or overweight and fewer attend church (the average
age of an Australian church attendee is 53).

Source: McCrindle Research and ABS Research method:
Focus groups and surveys of 1000 people from the McCrindle research online panel www.australiaspeaks.com

www.mccrindle.com.au