Romanian Parents’ Top Concerns: Bullying and Drug Abuse

Family life and the challenges of parents in their relationship with children are the subject of the latest study carried out by the CIPRA Association – Center for Information, Risk Prevention and Analysis, together with Reveal Marketing Research. The results were presented in the Romanian Parliament, during a debate carried out in partnership with the Commission for Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, with the theme: “Improving the quality of children’s lives and promoting equal opportunities”.

Bullying and cyberbullying are the first aspect mentioned in the category of main worries that respondents from the position of parents have (42%), followed by drug abuse (36%), stress, the child’s healthy diet, information available on the Internet, depression, neglect child, lack of sports activities, suicide or teenage pregnancy. In the top of the issues that concern Romanian parents regarding the well-being of their children, their dependence on digital devices is in first place (62%), also followed by the risk of drug use (47%) and the confrontation with bullying ( 42%). 27% of parents are worried about their children’s extremely busy schedule, and 25% about their poor results at school.

78% of respondents consider themselves to be very good parents to their children, especially men and people with high incomes. Things parents do to give their children a quality life include:

Quality time spent with them: 67%
Constant concern for their state of health (periodic visits to the doctor, tests): 50%
Healthy food offered: 47%
Annual holidays and/or school camps: 44%
Buying trendy things that children want: 35%
Enrolling in certain courses (languages, music, painting) or hiring a private lesson tutor : 29%
Life insurance or a savings account: 22% .

6 out of 10 parents say they would like to spend more time with their child and have more patience and self-control in conflict management, an aspect particularly mentioned by women (65% compared to 45% of men). At the same time, 26% of parents want to be able to buy their child a car/house, 25% would like to give them access to various courses or meditations, and 17% to be able to send them to study abroad. However, the time allocated by parents to be spent together is with children is 1.8 hours per day for playing and/or spending time outdoors, 1.5 hours for household chores done together, 1.4 hours for meals together and watching TV , 1.3 hours for homework, etc.

When asked about the effective aspects of raising a child, 91% of parents mentioned communication and trust. Indulgence and understanding are considered a priority (in second place – 78%) compared to strict discipline and the imposition of clear limits (64%). At the opposite pole, only 51% of respondents believe that rewards and/or punishments are effective when it comes to educating children.

Regarding the main causes of family conflicts, respondents ranked insufficient communication first (41%), followed by sharing expenses (38%) and not spending enough time together (alienation). For 33% of Romanians (37% in the case of women), the unequal distribution of tasks in the family is a reason for conflict, and in last place is the child’s education or the results obtained at school (23%).

Conducted by Reveal Marketing Research between May and June 2024 based on the CAWI methodology (online self-administered questionnaires), the CIPRA study targeted a nationally representative sample of 1,008 respondents, male and female internet users, aged 18 to 65 years old.

The post Romanian Parents’ Top Concerns: Bullying and Drug Abuse appeared first on The Romania Journal.