Despite the common anxieties of first-time parents, we slowly adjust to our children’s routines and gain confidence along the way.
According to a recent study, it seems this confidence is more prevalent in mums than it is in dads.
YouGov Omnibus found that one-third of women think they are a better parent than their partner.
And one-third of the men surveyed agreed with them.
The survey was completely unbiased, examining over 1,000 hetero-sexual and homo-sexual couples as well as partners with a variety of parenting styles - all had children under the age of 18.
A little over half of the parents saw themselves as part of an equal partnership, saying that their co-parent was “equally good” (54% of men and 53% of women).
However, 34% of women thought they had superior parenting skills while 32% of men agreed with their opinion.
On the other hand, only 6% of men and women thought that the male was the better parent.
But along with increased confidence comes increased stress.
Women surveyed also confessed that they worried more about their children than their partners did.
It’s no surprise that over two-thirds of parents often worry if they are raising their children right. There is no set parenting manual, and each parent makes decisions based off of what is best for their children.
While only 1 in 5 (21%) of parents said that they don’t worry about their role as a parent very often, the study showed an increased level of worry among mothers.
“Among self-reported “excellent” fathers, 56% worry very or quite frequently, compared to 60% of “excellent” mothers.
My biggest parenting conundrum: why it is so hard to put someone who is already sleepy to sleep
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) August 5, 2016
“This gap widens to 62% of ‘good’ dads vs 78% of 'good' mums, and is 62% vs 87% respectively between men and women who rate themselves ‘average’ parents,” the survey reported.
Anita Cleare from The Positive Parenting Project commented on the study’s results to The Independent.
“There is no inherent reason why one gender should be ‘better’ at parenting than another. In essence, we get good at what we practice.
“Learning to tune into your child, read their signals and influence their behaviour is something we learn by trying something out, getting it wrong and reflecting on how different strategies work.
“If dads have less time with children, they have fewer opportunities to hone their parenting skills.”
A few commenters have speculated whether the higher rates of confidence in mothers is due to increased solo time with their children.
Either way, the study has opened up an interesting discussion of the average couple’s faith in one another when it comes to parenting.
