Survey on Modern Parenting Reveals the Age Children Are Most Difficult

Raising a child is no small feat and, at times, it can be really hard. While parents aren’t perfect, they do their absolute best. A survey looks at the wins and fails of modern parenting—from where they get their parenting advice from to the age children are most difficult.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by popular diaper rash brand Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, surveyed a panel of 2,000 American parents aged 23 years and older. Their answers varied based on their age, their child’s age, their gender and their region.

According to the survey, the majority of parents felt children are hardest to handle at age 6—and some also admitted to having a favorite. Of the respondents who had a favorite, 50 percent admitted it was their youngest child—even though they were also the ones to cause the most trouble. But how were the children misbehaving? 70 percent of parents stated jumping on beds; 63 percent stated throwing things or playing catch inside; 52 percent stated drawing on the walls or floor; 45 percent stated blaming their sibling for something they did. In fact, three in 10 parents stated they would give up social media to have a perfectly-behaved child for life, while 30 percent stated they would give up wine, and 26 percent said they would give up Netflix.

Of course, parents aren’t perfect themselves, the survey found. The top parenting faux pas, at 65 percent according to the survey, was allowing kids too much screen time. Accidently teaching them swear words was second, at 42 percent, while letting them watch something that wasn’t age appropriate was third, at 39 percent.

When it came to parenting advice, the survey found that 42 percent of the respondents turned to their partner, then their mother (41 percent), while 31 percent turned to other parents and 17 percent relied on the internet. Approximately 10 percent of parents also stated they turned to social media for parenting advice.

“The beauty of modern parenting is that we can all connect on the fact that no one has it all together,” Jeanne Collins, vice president of marketing at Prestige Consumer Healthcare (which includes Boudreaux’s Butt Paste) stated in a news release. "Not only is it about laughing through the little mishaps that happen along the way, but also finding solutions that uniquely work for you as a parent.”