As part of her dissertation research, E. B. O’Donnell Weber conducted a survey with over one thousand American high school students, the Adolescent Parenting Knowledge and Attitudes Survey. Respondents seem to have overall beliefs about factors that influence child development which are congruent with the research evidence, but much more limited knowledge of specific facts about child development. One way to interpret this is that adolescents’ “orientation” about parenting is correct, but they lack expert knowledge about the matter. For example, participants indicated they have strong beliefs regarding the importance of parents speaking to infants (48% “Strongly Agree” and 35% "Agree“), giving children opportunities to speak as well as to listen (46% “Strongly Agree” and 40% “Agree”), and reading to children (38% “Strongly Agree” and 41% “Agree”). However, when asked about items related to how to develop oral language (such as by using full explanations when possible, using word games, or using all kinds of words) participants seemed less sure. These results seem to indicate that while high school students believe that parents should speak to their children often, they are unsure of how to do this, including what kinds of words and activities to use to promote discussion.

When asked where they learned what it means to be a parent, the majority responded that they learned from their parents. However, the second most common answer was from television or movies, and only 13% responded that they learned what it means to be a parent, at least in part, from a class (participants could—and often did—select more than one answer). In addition, high school students in the sample also did not have much confidence that they will “just know what to do” when they become a parent, indicating that many in the sample don’t have a strong belief that parenting knowledge and skills will come naturally to them, despite society’s implicit assumption that little or no training is needed for parenthood.

Boys were less likely than girls to answer questions about child development correctly and were less likely to believe in the importance of holding a growth mindset, promoting oral language development, and fostering empathy and social-emotional development, compared with girls. Interestingly, there did not seem to be a difference in knowledge or beliefs among students who live in a state with educational standards related to parenting and child development compared with students who live in a state without such standards. This seems to confirm anecdotal evidence that states are not currently effective at meeting their standards.

Overall, these results suggest that American adolescents could use more specific knowledge about the responsibilities of parenthood and precisely how they can promote learning in young children.

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