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The great majority of parents have positive and nurturing relationships with their children. In fact, findings from research show that parents and their adolescent children generally have close emotional ties. These findings run counter to anecdotal portrayals of parents as clueless and unconnected, especially when it comes to relating to their adolescent children.this point we will look at trends among child-parent relations through through three markers of these relationships for parents living with children between the ages of 6 and 17: parent-child closeness, the degree to which parents share ideas and talk about things that really matter with their children, and parents acquaintance with their children s friends.
The great majority of parents (87 percent) reported being very close to their children. Not surprisingly, a greater percentage of parents of 6-year-olds (96 percent) reported being very close to their children than parents of 17-year-olds (76 percent). However, for the most part, parents and children maintained close bonds, with three-quarters of these relationships described as very close, even when the child was 17. Among parents who lived with their children (ages 6-17), most reported feeling very close to their children, even as they grew into adolescence (87 percent). Only about 13 percent of parents reported that they were just somewhat close to their children. Less than 1 percent of parents reported that their relationship was not very close . Communication is an important parenting skill. Parents who discuss important matters such as academic performance, puberty, and drug use provide their children with knowledge that can help them lead more productive and safer lives. In addition, conversations about serious topics convey to children that parents are concerned with and interested in their lives [2, p. 38]. National Survey of Children s Health asked parents to what degree they can share ideas and talk about things that really matter with their children. About 75 percent of parents reported that they were able to share and talk about things that really mattered with their children very well . The percentage declined with the age of the child, with 82 percent of parents of 6 - to 11-year-olds and 70 percent of parents of 12 - to 17-year-olds reporting that they could share ideas and talk with their children < i align="justify"> very well about things that really mattered. These findings indicate that communication between parents and children is relatively high, even for parents of children at the adolescent stage, when communication can be a greater challenge [8, p. 21]. Find that parental awareness of American children s friends is an important part of parenting. For parents, knowing their children s friends can have a two-fold effect: it can help preempt their children s involvement in negative social activities, and it can keep parents aware of their children s social behaviors. In addition, research finds that parents who monitor their children s friendships tend to raise more socially adept children. Indeed, of the 10 rules that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provides parents, part of rule number one - making sure to know where ...
