Parents Trust Their Own Mothers First, Survey Finds

When today's parents need trusted advice on raising a child, about half turn to the most familiar source there is: their own moms. That's one of several findings from a new survey of parents by the nonprofit Zero to Three, which reached out to about 2,200 parents of children ages 1 to 5 and also held eight online sessions to gather qualitative data about raising children in a time of dramatic social change.

The numbers show a broad net, not a single authority. In addition to the 49 percent who said trusted advice comes from their mothers, 37 percent said they turn to their partners for that advice, and 35 percent named health care professionals as their primary source of trusted advice. Parents are piecing the answer together from more than one place, and no one source carries the whole question.

The newer sources are part of the mix too. About 18 percent of respondents say they get advice from artificial intelligence, and of those parents, 76 percent found that advice helpful. That's a small share of all parents, but a striking endorsement from the parents who've actually tried it — the tool that barely existed a few years ago is already a working source for some families.

What parents are asking about hasn't changed as fast as where they ask. They're particularly looking for advice to support their children's social-emotional development, help them with educational activities and discipline them effectively — all topics where early childhood educators may be helpful, said Rebecca Parlakian, Zero to Three's senior director of programs.

Parlakian's read of the result is that parents aren't outsourcing the judgment. "When I put that all together, what that says to me is that parents today are not relying on any sole source to define their parenting," she said. "They have had to learn how to weigh information based on how well aligned it is with their personal beliefs, their practices, their family values, and the kind of childhood that they want to offer their kids."

The survey also points to what parents want from policy, not just from advice. Parents said they're looking for programs such as paid parental leave and universal pre-K, and for policies around social media and AI content regulation. "Screen time is such a pain point and they're really looking for some support that isn't just them spending their time as mediators," Parlakian said. The advice question, in other words, is also a support question — and parents are answering it with every source they can reach.