The Parenting Index: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities of Supporting Parenting Today

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Key messages:

• There are universal challenges for parents, no matter where in the world they are raising their children.
• The Parenting Index is a new lens to help understand the experiences of parents today.
• This new Index provides a quantitative measure that informs how all parts of society can better support parents all over the world.

Becoming a parent is one of life’s greatest experiences, but it is seldom easy. Parenting comes with many challenges. Every day is unique, and the experience can be both amazing and overwhelming. Parenting is often described as a primary means of training and preparing children to meet the demands of their environments and to take advantage of opportunities within those environments1. However; the reality of parenting is complex, and there is no single way in which it is approached2. To promote early
childhood development3, and as recommended by the World Health Organization4, all infants and children should receive responsive care and parents should be supported to
provide such responsive and nurturing care, particularly in the first three years of a child’s life. By recognizing the needs, feelings and experiences that make up the complexities of the early parenting journey, society will be better able to support mums and dads all over the world.

A new report that aimed to describe the realities of parenting today shines a light on the experiences and opportunities by identifying key factors which impact the ease of parenting around the world. The Parenting Index, commissioned by Nestle, with research conducted by Kantar, is based on a quantitative survey of 8,000 parents,
from 16 countries. The Parenting Index is not a measure of “right” or “wrong”, but rather it was designed, based on standard survey research approaches5, to identify factors that impact the ease of parenting of infants and young children. The Parenting Index shows that the factors that affect parents are universal, no matter where in the
world they are raising their children. Of the eight key factors identified in the Index, pressure has the biggest effect on how easy it is to be a parent (Figure 1). The pressure variable includes not just the pressure parents put on themselves to do their best for
their children, but pressures from the outside world too. Whether from family, friends, or society as a whole,

fig 1

everyone can have an opinion on how best to raise a child. Other factors, including financial resilience, supports for working life, parent perception of having an easy baby, access to adequate healthcare, and trustworthy information about health and wellbeing also play a role in the challenges parents across the world face every day. The insights from the Parenting Index reveal a roadmap for all areas of society, including employers,
to better understand and provide support for parents.

Key results from the Parenting Index Report:
• For the first time, countries have been ranked by how parents perceive what it is like to be a parent today, and the key factors that influence these perceptions have been identified.
• The Parenting Index reveals that 8 key universal factors impact parents, and that this is different from one country to the next.
• Three factors explain 55% of the Index: Pressure: Inside & Out (22.6%), Financial Resilience (16.7%), and Supports for Working Life (15.6%).
• It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, the Absence of Pressure: Inside & Out is the biggest universal issue and the primary theme for The Parenting Index 2020.
• Results from the Index identify that parenting does not become easier with a second child; parenting experience does not change the judgement of others, improve finances, or make work/life balance easier.
• While there is no magic formula, parents who report they have flexibility at work needed to care for their child are more likely to feel greater ease in parenting.

Wherever parents are in the world, the experience of parenting is complex. The Parenting Index is a new lens through which to understand how individuals and society can better support parents in this greatest of journeys. 

References
1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8. 2016. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21868.
2. Munns A, Watts R, Hegney D, Walker R. Effectiveness and experiences of families and support workers participating in peer-led parenting support programs delivered as home visiting programs: A comprehensive systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2016;10:167-208.
3. Black MM, Walker SP, Fernald LCH, Andersen CT, DiGirolamo AM, Lu C et al. Early childhood development coming of age: science through the life course. Lancet. 2017; 389(10064):77-90.
4. World Health Organization. Improving early childhood development: WHO guideline.
Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
5. Vernarelli JA and Millen, B. Survey research planning and questionnaire design. In Research: Successful approaches in nutrition and dietetics, Eds., Linda Van Horn and Judith Beto. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Chicago, IL. 2019; pp 230-249.