Parents of young children often have questions about how to care for their child. The CS Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health surveyed a national sample of parents of children ages 0 to 4 about their use of social media to share parenting ideas.
Most parents of young children (80%) say they use social media to discuss parenting topics. More mothers than fathers use social media to seek parenting advice or information (84% vs. 69%) or to share their experiences (63% vs. 42%). Parents report using social media to learn or discuss potty training (44%), putting their children to sleep (42%), nutrition/breastfeeding (37%), discipline (37%) ), behavioral problems (33%), vaccinations (26%), daycare/preschool (24%) and getting along with other children (21%).
Parents say they discuss these topics on social media because they want to hear different ideas (62%), it’s practical (27%), and they want to do things differently than their parents ( 25%), that they have no family/friends. nearby (9%), they don’t have enough opportunities to talk to their child’s healthcare provider (7%) or are too embarrassed to ask in person (5%). Parents view social media as very useful to have new ideas to try (44%), make them feel like they’re not alone (37%), learn what not to do (33%), decide to buy certain products (25%) or when to take them. the child to the doctor (11%) and help them worry less (16%).
Most parents (72%) identify at least one aspect of sharing on social media that concerns them, such as seeing other parents do unhealthy or dangerous things to their child (43%), difficulty distinguishing the good from the bad advice (40%), others discover private information about their family (38%) or share photos of their child without their child’s permission (31%). Many believe other parents share too much on social media by bragging about their child (77%), sharing too often or too much (76%), giving personal information that could identify the child’s location. child (63%), by giving information that could embarrass the child. when they are older (62%), post false or false information (48%) or share inappropriate photos of a child’s body (27%).
To limit their child’s sharing on social media, parents use privacy settings to restrict who can see their posts (57%), avoid posting photos or videos of their child (30%), only participate in closed groups (22%), use their child’s initials instead of their name (5%), or hide their child’s face (5%); a third (31%) say they do not talk about their child at all on social media.
Strong points
- 4 out of 5 parents of young children use social media to discuss parenting topics.
- Nearly half of parents find social media very helpful in finding new ideas to try.
- 2 in 5 parents think it is difficult to distinguish good advice from bad on social media.
- More than half of parents use privacy settings or limit access to posts about their children.
Consequences
For new parents, the infant and toddler years bring joy and excitement, as well as myriad decisions about how best to care for their child. Parents of older children benefit from the experience but may face new challenges because each child has their own personality and temperament. This Mott poll confirms that most mothers and more than two-thirds of fathers use social media to discuss challenges and seek advice about parenting their child aged 0-4. This represents a considerable increase since Mott Poll last explored this topic in 2015.
Common social media discussion topics include a child’s daily sleeping and feeding routine, milestones like potty training and adjusting to daycare or preschool, and long-term challenges like discipline. Often there is no clear “best” way to do things; Many parents use a trial and error approach to find what works for their child. This aligns with survey results that the main reason parents turn to social media is to have ideas and strategies to try.
The convenience of social media allows parents to search for information or seek advice whenever a new parenting challenge arises; they do not need to wait for the child’s next check-up or the next visit to grandparents or other experienced family members. Social media can be particularly useful for parents who do not have regular contact with family members or friends experienced in raising children and can offer advice on parenting difficulties. In contrast, 1 in 4 parents in this Mott survey said they sought advice on social media specifically because they wanted to do things differently than their own parents did.
Parents admit they fear sharing too much about their children on social media. The most common problems are annoyances, such as a parent bragging or posting too often. Other concerns relate to privacy, such as posts revealing personal information about the child or family. One aspect to consider is whether the child might ever be embarrassed by sharing personal information without their consent. Parents should also consult the parents of other children in the photos for approval before sharing them on social media.
Oversharing can include things like revealing when the family home may be unattended, such as during a family vacation, or even creating a risk of identity theft. While some parents use privacy settings or limit their posts to closed groups to limit the risk of information leaks, this Mott poll shows that others may want to increase their use of privacy settings and other strategies to limit the amount of personal information in their posts. .
An emerging concern is whether parents share false or untrue information, knowingly or unknowingly. In this survey, 4 in 10 parents indicated that it can be difficult to separate good advice from bad on social media. It is important that parents can identify reliable sources of information about children’s health and parenting, and consult these sources before trying new strategies with their own child.
One in ten parents of young children who use social media consider it very helpful in deciding when to take their child to the doctor. However, with young children, it is generally prudent to contact the child’s primary care provider with any questions. Telehealth visits and messaging through patient portals are effective ways for parents to seek advice; this allows the provider to determine if the child needs to be seen in person. Additionally, parents should keep a list of questions and topics to ask during well-child visits.
