ZERO TO THREE, with the support of and in collaboration with the Bezos Family Foundation, went directly to parents of young children—largely Millennials and Generation X mothers and fathers—to learn more about the challenges they face, the help they seek and how satisfied they are with the parenting support and information they receive.
Tuning In: Parents of Young Children Tell Us What They Think, Know and Need is the result of a large-scale research effort. The survey, conducted in October 2015, examines parenthood from the perspective of millennial and Generation X parents.
We know so much more today about how and when brain architecture is built and how deeply it is influenced by early experiences. During the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life, more than a million neural connections are formed in the brain every second. This is the time of greatest opportunity and highest risk.
We also know that the way adult caregivers—parents in particular— interact with children during the early years can actually shape their brain architecture for life, for better and for worse. Children who have experienced nurturing and positive connections have more secure, healthy relationships and are more likely to do well academically and socially into adulthood than children who experience insensitive or harsh caregiving.
We conducted 10 in-depth discussion groups in the homes of parents from a wide range of backgrounds (moms and dads; single and married; Caucasian, African-American and Hispanic) in Chicago and Dallas in the summer andfall of 2015. The insights from these groups informed the development of a 50-question internet survey. Available in English and Spanish, the survey was conducted in October 2015, with a nationally representative sample of 2,200 parents of children birth to 5 years.
Download the full report to discover what our survey uncovered.
