YR 12 student research

[katharineyr12]

hello everyone,

I am a yr 12 student and currently doing my Personal Interest Project (PIP) for Society and culture. My PIP is about Australia's smallest generation and how parents are over indulging and over parenting their only child. The average age for first time mothers is 30 which means they may have only one whether due to health or economic problems or just the need for one.

I am conducting a research questionnaire and it would be greatly appreciated if you would take time to complete it.

1. Age

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom?
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only?
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict?

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child?

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”

“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"


END________ Thank you so much

[elwoodgal]

1. Age
47
2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
Choice had nothing to do with it. My age was/is the only reason we only have 1 child
3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?
Not opportunities but she does not have a sibling to play with
4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?
I suppose money is not a problem for us with only 1 child.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?
I have a problem with the word 'spoilt'. I impose discipline & of course I love her unreservedly.
6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom?
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only?
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict?
Freedom may be difficult as we will want to know where she goes etc when she is older but ditto most parents.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child?
Sort of. My girl is currently a Mummy's girl but I am hoping this will change as she gets older.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”
Possibly over protected (agree)
nothing wrong with a bit of rebellion!

“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"
Yes, I agree but the reason why educated women have fewer children is b/c we started later in life to have children for a variety of reasons.

Hope this helps
Elwoodgal

[porridgeforbreakfast]

1. Age
33 now
25 when had child

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
No partner then, no stable partner now. Would have another child if circumstances were right on my own.

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?
Yes. Probably hasnt been involved in as many extra curricular activities as other children because she doesnt have siblings involved aswell. This may also be because I work shifts and can be difficult to get her to and from activities on a regular basis!

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?
My child has already gained opportunities by travelling overseas with me that if I had another child I would not be able to afford to do.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?
Definitely not! I think the opposite but I think that is because I am a single parent and it is due to this rather then that she is an only child.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom?
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only?
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict?
I think I do spend more money on gifts for her because I can.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child?
Not applicable. I find there is competition between my child and my partner for my attention.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”
I dont have the time to over parent.
“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"
True. On the other hand though having a higher education level means a higher paid job in most cases. As I have a well paid job I would certainly be able to afford to have another child and raise it on my own partnerless again.

[suzannec]

1. Age
35 when had dd, 40 now.

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
Age, relationship as well as health factors. The risks increase with every year and we didnt want to risk it.

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?

dd hasnt missed out on anything. She has friends over, has out of school activities.

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?

Yes, she will be able to go to uni if she wants without having to worry about finances. Can also give her all the little extra's throughout her life.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?

dd is not over indulges or spoilt. She is spoilt for affections but is not spoilt in a material way. I have friends who spoil their 3 children a lot more.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? No more than any other child. Being an only has no impact on freedom, families with multiple children often give their kids more freedom because its easier.

-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? Not really, actually we probably spend less as we are very aware of not spoiling her and creating a child who expects lots of expensive toys.

-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict? No.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child? Definetly not.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”

Sounds like a load of hogwash written by someone who has no children.

“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"

Sounds about right.

[Chickadee]

1. Age
37. I was 33 when DD was born.

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
Marriage/partner relationship. And personal emotional/mental health.

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?
Not yet. But she's only 4 and I do think having siblings can become more important as people get older.

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?
More attention from Mom & Dad perhaps.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?
No.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? No, probably less.
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? No.
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict? More relaxed. But no difference in how strict we are. We aim for consistency in parenting & rules, not strictness.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child?
Absolutely not.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”

I disagree.

“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"

This may be shown by research, but does not seem to be the case among my friends. I am university educated with 1 child, but have many similarly educated friends who have 2 or 3 children.

[JJJRain-crew]

1. Age
22
2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
economic, inderpendance, emotional health, environmental and social factors (too many children make me feel extremely anxious)
3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?
No, she won't, we will be in a better financial situation to be able to give her many opportunities, and we are young and still having many experiances ourselves which she is and will be involved in, we can devote alot of energy to her.
4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities? Yes as above

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child? She is surrounded by of warmth and love. she will always have everything she needs but not neccesarily everything she wants.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? depends on the circumstance, we will set up clear boundries for each situation
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? I will try and raise her to not become too attached to material things. She will get an appropriate amount of gifts each year but I will try to focus on a quality of life rather than the quantity of material 'stuff'
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict? Yes, and no, I will set bounderies but I will allow her to explore her inderpandance within those bounderies (as much as we can when she's a teen LOL)...I would use the same approach if I ever did decide to have one more child...or a puppy lol.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child? Not at all, we enjoy spending time together as a family

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.” In some but not all cases.

“As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children" In my situation, I am young yes but I have just never had much of an intrest in children, my older sister is the same, and my mother was the same. We are just not very maternal wemon, and I would prefer to have a career then be at home with children for more than a few years, (3 max) so yes.


END________ Thank you so much [/quote]

[princessbabyangel]

1. Age 23

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other my family feels complete, I never wanted more - she is everything and all I could want

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind? none, we attend playgroups and she plays well with others

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities? definately, she gets the best of care taken too her - I never have to say, 'i'd love to read to her more but I just don't have the time' you hear that alot from mothers of several children

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child? No, spoils is an inappropriate word and she is not over indulged - you can NEVER love a child too much, and materialist indulgences are few and far between.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? I think that trust is important and as long as she respects me with honesty she will have all the freedom she wants
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? No, we can't afford to spend alot of money on gifts and we wouldn't want too, I am setting limitations that can remain sustainable through days when our finances are not as good
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict? No, I think I would have the same rules regardless, however I understand parents of multiple children can be more relaxed out of sheer exhaustion

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child? Yes this is a flaw I aggree with, my partner struggles with the fact that we will have no more children because he wants one to himself, it is difficult at times but mostly we enjoy life as a family.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
“The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.”
I think there is more to play in this, such as the parents that put there child in group care from a young age (under 3), for these children I think the above maybe true. However stay at home parents provide have the opportunity to raise there child from the start with boundaries, trust, confidence and unconditional love - this would in turn produce a well adjusted, independent, trustworthy child... I'd bet on it!
“As in other

[MummyCat]

1. Age - 30 when I fell pregnant, 31 when I had her.

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child?- economic, independence, marriage/partner relationship, health, other
We wanted to see how we went with one before deciding to have another. She is perfect and we can't imagine getting it so right again. Also we both have siblings and know that there are always favourites. We don't want to impact our relationships with her. It also allows us to give her and ourselves opportunities we couldn't otherwise.

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind?
Not so far. She is very social and outgoing and at only 15months already has friends, we can always invite a friend along for holidays.

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?
Yes. Our resources will be able to provide more opportunities for one than they could for two we will also be able to spend more one to one time with her. Having one also gives us more flexibility ourselves, and being more rounded individuals makes us better parents than we would be otherwise.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?
No. A child with siblings can be spoiled as easily as a single child. I've known many. They only way to stop a child being spoiled - it not to spoil them.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? No
-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? Not neccessarily. I probably won't worry as much as if I had more I would feel pressure to spend equally.
-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict?No.


7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child?
No. Our Daughter is really good at 'taking turns' with us. When she is upset or hurt she want's to have hug from both. We both have strong, loving, respectful relationships with her.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
�The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.�

These are flawed and scientifically unsupported stereotypes of single children. I have met many many sibling ed people who meet the above description. It's a reflection of parenting style not family size.

�As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children"

I do agree with this. In my parents/grandparents generation women got married and had multiple kids because they didn't have choices. They probably never really questioned it that often. However as women have become better educated we have more options. One of which is having children. Also as we have more career options we are having kids later. which leads to having fewer. We are probably also considering kids in more depth and finding one is enough.

In your research you should check out "Parenting an Only Child" by Susan Newman.

[TinBee]

1. Age: 35

2. Were there any factors determining why you decided to have only one child? Many - child with high care needs as taken it's toll on me (hospital visits, being dismissed by almost everyone because it is not life threatening but requires me to stay home, no family support around, Father works long hours, he is so perfect and we love him so much how can you get that again.

3. Do you think your child has missed out on any opportunities, if yes what kind? None. I am not sure why he would.

4. Do you think by being an only child your child will gain any opportunities?
Absolutely, he is more mature that a lot of kids his age, there is no 'kids" table - he talks with us at restaurants and orders his own meals (age almost 3), he has his friends still and gets more developmental attention from us rather than let him amuse himself while we tend to nappies!
Financially we will be better off so we will be able to afford more experiences. Financial difficulties are a high cause of marital stress and divorce so the opportunity of increased marital harmony perhaps.

5. Would you consider yourself a parent who over indulges and spoils your only child?
No. It's much easier to be consistent when you only have one rather than let things slide because you are so tired which happens with my SIL who has 3 under 5. She admits it - she is tired and can't discipline.

6. Do you think you:
-will/give your child more freedom? Maybe, because he is so independant. Not sure. As far as rules goes No but he already helps cook, suggests what to have for dinner and helps with the groceries. Mums with more than one cannot do that with 2 kids at the shops.

-Will/spend more money on gifts for your only? Not sure. Perhaps. Hard to tell when you don;t know what you would spend if you had 2 but I know we have less toys than anyone I know - but probably more expensive individual items vs more. (because we can afford it)

-Will be/are more relaxed and less strict? Nope easier to be consistent with one child.

7. Do you think there is competition between you and your partner for the affection of your child? None. I get all my affection when my husband works then I am more happy to let them have their time as well as time together.

8. How would you respond to these quotes by social researcher Hugh Mackay:
�The falling birthrate means that we are producing a generation of children who will almost certainly be over-parented, over-indulged and over-protected. They are likely to become a highly rebellious generation of teenagers when the time comes to assert their independence from parents who have been trying too hard.� This can happen with only children or multiples - it depends on the parents. With only one I can stay at home versus kids being in after school care and barely seeing their parents.

�As in other Western countries, our falling birthrate is tied to the rising education levels of women: more highly educated females tend to have fewer children" Would have to check the statistics on this and how it was measured as you can often make statistics say anything you want. I have (quick count 7) friends who were in law, accounting, marketing with 2 or 3 kids and now stay at home with the kids, but I also have non uni educated friends with 2-3 who are stay at home too. So my sample doesn't really say much.

Good luck with your report.