Is it fact that: many children do not get as much attention from their parents as children did in the past?

Question

Modern lifestyle mean that many parents have little time for their children.

Answer 1

Yes I think so. I am a parent and work a full time job and find it very hard to spend any extra time with my kids. I have a friend which is fortunate enough not to work and she is always taking her kids to swimming lessons or sporting activities or to the park and so on. I leave home at 8am and get home at 6.30pm. After we cook, eat dinner and bathe there really isn't any time for any thing else before the kids go to bed at 8pm. On the weekends we are busy running around doing the shopping, cleaning the house, doing the kids home work and every thing else that we don't get time to do durring the week. I would love to spend more quality time with my children but sadly with todays society it isn't easy. When I had kids this is the last thing I wanted for them. A lotto win would be just the answer!!!

Answer 2

It might be for many cases. Back in the day wives would stay home and take care of the kids while dad worked. Now, women are working more, and there are a lot more single parents out there than it was in the past. Being a single parent is hard, especially today with our economy.

So, I would say some children are not getting as much attention now a days.

Answer 3

I can't wholly agree, I was an 80's child and my parents really didn't show me much attention at all we were expected to entertain ourselves from a very young age. The adults in my family would never have got down on the floor and played with us and family outings were few and far between, they did not even see the value in sitting down to dinner together as a family. Don't get me wrong, they loved us in their own way but it was never shown or spoken of, they satisfied themselves that they were providing for us financially and that, for them was enough.

Now I am older and wiser and a parent too, I can see my parents failures and how much it affected me adversely and therefore afford my own children all of the attention in the world, I am possibly even guilty of giving them too much attention on occasion because I am over compensating for what I missed out on.

So while I can see your point and that it's true for SOME families it's not for all and certainly not for mine.

Answer 4

no I spend plenty of time with my kids. The only time we are not together is when they are at school

Answer 5

I wouldn't, as a generalisation, say parents have little time for their children, I think they have less time. At the same time, children are not as demanding of parental time, as they have TV, computers etc.

My grandmother spent far more time on running the house than I do, but I work.

I hate the cliche 'quality time' but it is probably a fact.

Like everything, we have a choice.

Answer 6

I don't think so. Parents today seem extremely overprotective to me.

Answer 7

Absolutely!

Answer 8

With the cost of general living expenses, majority of families can only get by if they are on 2 incomes which means that many mums and/or dads have to return to work just to keep food on the table and their hrs are getting longer! It doesn't make them bad parents. Unfortunately, thats just how life for most people is now. I'm sure every mother and father would give the world to be able to spend more time with their children.

Answer 9

I read a study once that said that parents actually spend MORE one-on-one time with their kids.  An average of 14 hours a week, which is an all-time high for the past several decades.

Answer 10

I think it is the other way: Children do not desire as much attention from their parents as they did in the past.

I think modern lifestyle is well-suited to parenting. Its different because women work now, but fathers are stepping up more and there is still time to show attention.

I think the technology age makes it so children are so desensitized, they don't know how to react when they DO get attention. I have seen 9 year olds with cell phones, 11 year olds in chat rooms, 7 year olds watching tv....why do they need parents anymore when technology can raise them?

In the past, there was nothing to do but do things together as a family. Now children can just turn on the tv/computer/wii and be instantly entertained. They don't need attention from parents anymore to be entertained. They can do it themselves.

It is because children are constantly moving away from their parents' line of influence earlier and are turning to synthetic sources of parenting that parents are begining to feel like their children aren't getting as much personal attention...because they aren't. They don't "need" it anymore. This results in parents not giving them as much attention...they feel they don't need it because they have the computer/tv/wii now.

Think about it. If your 12 year old stays home alone when you go out what are they likely to be doing? Who is keeping them from leaving the house? The TV!

Parents, turn off the game cube and start doing things with your children!

Answer 11

Yes.  You cannot give a child attention when you're at work.  Childminders, carers, grandparents, etc have to do it.  I once met a woman who told me how much time she spent with her child every day - as she drove them from their activities, etc.  She felt that an hour in the car was quality time.

The world is mad - it's okay to pay someone to bring up your children, but not okay to bring them up yourself.

Answer 12

i believe so!... but parents nowadays must look for their children even more than before... as the world is crazingly changing... things are out there, bad stuff! we must take a good look at what our children is doing, just to know and stay protected not to forbid them!... safe is better than falling into bad stuff!

Answer 13

Maybe in some cases.

I give my Daughter all the attention in the World though. When she's awake, we play (as much as you can with a 2 month old), I read to her, talk to her, sing to her, everything! When she's asleep I sleep or get on the computer. (: