Parents Reveal Who Judges Them – And What They Worry About Most

There's no doubt about it; being a parent is a tough job, with a whole lot of responsibility.

But despite UK mums and dads worrying that every choice they make for their child could be the wrong one, 68 per cent of parents also feel judged on their parenting decisions, research shows.

In a survey conducted by Nurofen for Children, 50 per cent of 2,000 polled parents revealed they feel judged on their child’s diet and nutrition. While 43 per cent worry their parenting style is scruntinised and 33 per cent feel most judged on their child’s behaviour.

Encouragingly, 90 per cent of those polled consider themselves confident parents, but 16 per cent of dads and 14 per cent of mums admitted to feeling judged by others “all the time”.

And it’s other parents who do the most of the judging – 20 per cent of mums revealed that other parents are those most likely to judge their parenting style.

But grandparents are also culprits as 16 per cent of those polled admitted their mothers-in-law judges them most and another 16 per cent confessed their own mum judges them.

The Top 10 Parenting Worries

1.  The health of my child (47.75 per cent)
2.  The safety of my child (47.70 per cent)
3.  That my child will fall in with the 'wrong crowd' (35.80 per cent)
4.  My child’s education (34 per cent)
5.  That my child will be bullied (33 per cent)
6.  That my child won't always confide in me (18 per cent)
7.  That my child won't make friends (16.5 per cent)
8.  That my child will forget their manners when they are away from me (16.5 per cent)
9.  That my child may not grow up in a happy family environment (13.10 per cent)
10.  That one day my child won't want to be hugged (13 per cent)

The research also reveals who parents seek advice from. Stats show that 36 per cent of those polled get the most guidance from their own mums, 26 per cent get advice from their partners and 23 per cent ask friends for help. 

When it came to admitting to making the wrong parenting decision, there was a large age divide.  

Almost a fifth of parents polled admit the decisions they made for their child were not right the first time round, with parents aged 45 to 55 most readily admitting their mistakes.

Younger parents, aged 18 to 24, feel most confident with their decisions with a quarter saying they definitely made the correct choices for their child without previous experience.

In general, 25 per cent of parents feel that finding friendship groups and socialising their child is the hardest area to make decisions on, 24 per cent find decisions on health issues more of a struggle and 23 per cent think education is the most difficult choice.

“Being a parent can be one of the hardest but most rewarding of jobs and one that causes plenty of second-guessing,” says GP Dr Pixie McKenna.

“While these results show that many parents feel judged on their parenting choices by others – there are also positive signs that parents are looking to each other, whether family and friends in person, or online support groups – for advice and support.

“Even as a GP, I still turn to my family and friends for their top-tips when it comes to making choices for my child.”

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Do you feel judged on your parenting decisions? Let us know in the comments.