Main finding:
When parents were asked to vote for their 'top 3' issues in raising their teens/preteens,

• "bad attitude-lack of respect" was the one most voted for, on average.
• "academic problems" came in second, and
• "chores" came in third,

so these are the TOP 3 ISSUES among parents of teens/preteens responding to this poll.

THESE RESULTS ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE OF THE PRIOR POLL for December 2000 through March 2001, and "attitude" has been the most often chosen issue in every parenting poll run at this site since we first began them, in 1999.

"Mood swings" and "lying" ("lying" not shown in chart) were the fourth and fifth issues most-voted-for.

[Scroll down for info on interpreting the colored bars.]

See the results of the "Good Stuff" poll--the areas parents are happiest with in their relationships with their teens/preteens.

For a list of all the issues parents could select from, see the Poll.

Compare results this quarter with prior quarter's results.

See Results of TEEN POLL.

Interpreting the colored bars:

All Respondents:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by poll respondents went to a particular issue as one of the "top 3" in parenting teens & preteens

votes by MOTHERS:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by mothers went to a particular issue (as one of the 'top 3' in parenting teens/preteens)

votes by FATHERS:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by FATHERS went to a particular issue (as one of the 'top 3' in parenting teens/preteens)

votes by STEPPARENTS/other caregivers
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by STEPPARENTS AND OTHER CAREGIVERS went to a particular issue (as one of the 'top 3' in parenting teens/preteens)

Caregiver differences:
The chart shows that mothers and fathers responding to this poll exhibited some differences when voting for the 'top 3' issues in parenting teens and preteens:

• Fathers were somewhat more concerned than mothers about "bad attitude/lack of respect" and somewhat less concerned about the other three issues.
  
  
• Stepparents and other caregivers (mostly it was stepparents who responded in this category) showed significant differences from the other mothers and fathers in that they more often chose "mood swings," proportionally, as among the 'top 3' parenting issues. Stepparent results were different enough that we've charted them separately. Stepparent Chart

Results of "The Good Stuff" poll
[Find out what parents choose as the 'Top 3' Areas of Enjoyment of Teen/Preteens]

Questions about the poll? Write to us!

Main finding:
When parents were asked to vote for the 'top 3' areas they were happiest with in their relationships with their teens/preteens:

• "discussions we have" was the one most voted for, on average, followed by
• "achievements by teen/preteen" and
• "moral values demonstrated by child,"

so these are the TOP 3 AREAS OF APPRECIATION in the parent-teen/ parent-preteen relationship for parents responding to this poll.

"Activity we share" came in fourth.

[Scroll down for info on interpreting the colored bars.]

"Prior quarter" results

See the results of the "Issues in Parenting" poll--the issues parents choose as their 'top 3' in parenting their teens/preteens.

Results of TEEN POLL.

Interpreting the colored bars:

All Respondents:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by poll respondents went to a particular area as one of the "top 3" areas of appreciation in the parent-teen/parent-preteen relationship

votes by FATHERS:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by FATHERS went to a particular area (as one of the "top 3" areas of appreciation in the parent-teen/parent-preteen relationship)

votes by MOTHERS:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by MOTHERS went to a particular area (as one of the "top 3" areas of appreciation in the parent-teen/parent-preteen relationship)

votes by STEPPARENTS:
this bar shows what proportion of the total number of votes cast by STEPPARENTS went to a particular area (as one of the "top 3" areas of appreciation in the parent-preteen relationship)

Differences among parent-types:

The chart shows that STEPPARENTS often disagreed with mothes and fathers on what the 'top 3' areas of appreciation are. We have charted STEPPARENT RESULTS separately.

Another difference amont parents is that singificantly more FATHERS than MOTHERS (or Stepparents) most enjoy "Discusssions" with their teen/preteen. Although MOTHERS also chose "Discussions we have" as their first most pleasurable area, they did so by a smaller margin than fathers.

Results of Parent Poll of "Top 3 Parenting Issues" ("I have difficulty with my teen/preteen in...")

Results of TEEN POLL.

Questions about the poll? Write to us!