Most families with preschool children are doing well, but single-parent families in particular are stressed
According to a survey conducted by THL, the majority of parents with preschool children who participated in the study are satisfied with their lives. However, there is stress especially in single-parent families. In addition, the comprehensive wellbeing of families needs more attention.
According to the recent FinChildren survey conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), more than 80 per cent of parents with preschool children are satisfied with their lives. Most respondents said they felt well and were optimistic about the future.
The survey was conducted last spring and 13 000 parents of children born in 2017 responded to it. That was 25 per cent of those invited to the study.
The majority of respondents stated that their family enjoys living in their neighbourhood. Most parents have reliable loved ones with whom they can share their joys and sorrows, and who can also provide help if necessary.
“On the other hand, parents also had many kinds of mental stress and financial difficulties. The pre-primary education period, when the child prepares to start school and when the health inequalities of children begin to show, is a significant transition phase for the whole family. In order to optimally support families, it is important to collect information on this phase,” says Maaret Vuorenmaa, Senior Researcher of the FinChildren study.
Up to 40 per cent of parents said they experience symptoms of exhaustion, and they also had other stress. Single-parent families in particular reported health problems, loneliness and financial scarcity.
More than one third of mothers who are the only parent in the family said they had to compromise on food or medicines due to lack of money. In addition, the only adults in the family often found interesting hobbies too expensive.
Half of preschool children have at least two hours of screen time on days off
According to the survey, preschool children spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Approximately half of the children have at least two hours of screen time on days off.
“Screen time often increases with age and causes a shortage of elements essential to the child’s wellbeing, such as sleep, exercise, play and other social interaction,” Vuorenmaa says.
“One way to attract children away from digital devices is to offer families interesting, affordable or free leisure activities in the immediate neighbourhood,” she adds.
However, according to the survey, 81 per cent of preschool boys and 75 per cent of preschool girls perform high-paced physical activity for more than an hour on days off.
Parents mainly satisfied with maternity and child health clinic services and early childhood education and care – however, more support for parenthood is needed
Almost all respondents felt that the monitoring of the child’s growth at the child health clinic had been expert and that they had received sufficient professional support for it if necessary.
74 per cent of parents were satisfied with the attention given to the whole family at the maternity and child health clinic, and slightly under 70 per cent were satisfied with the parenthood support they received. These areas emerged as the most vulnerable areas of health examinations in the survey. In addition, parents often failed to talk about the support they needed for managing and their relationship and, partly because of this, did not receive sufficient support.
“The experiences of parenthood are individual and change as the child grows. Identifying the parents’ personal needs and support for parenthood is one of the basic tasks of the maternity and child health clinic and a factor affecting the wellbeing of the whole family,” says Sanna Nieminen, Development Manager at THL.
“At the maternity and child health clinic, parents should be encouraged to talk about how they are managing or the support needed in their relationship, for example. Particular attention should be paid to single-parent families who experience many types of stress,” she adds.
Almost all parents felt that preschool children enjoyed early childhood education and care and pre-primary education, and they had a good relationship with at least one adult member of personnel. Parents were less satisfied with the sufficiency and turnover of personnel.
According to the survey, up to 40 per cent of children had experienced bullying in early childhood education and care, at home or elsewhere.
“It would be absolutely essential to promote a safe growth environment for children and try to find more effective ways to prevent bullying,” says Vuorenmaa.
Many parents have failed to report their service needs
Social welfare family services, such as home services for families with children, family work, and parenting and family counselling, provide support for parents and the entire family.
According to the survey, one in four mothers and one in five fathers had needed health and social services for everyday practical activities, as well as discussion and guidance. However, up to half of the parents who had needed the services had failed to report the need for the services, and an unsatisfied need for the services was common.
“The results oblige us to strengthen the awareness about family services and their ability to respond to the needs of customer families. The ability of professionals to meet customers in a way that encourages parents to communicate their support needs must also be strengthened. Fortunately, the well-developed development work of family centres in regions has already strengthened customer-oriented service guidance and multidisciplinary cooperation between professionals,” says Hanne Kalmari, Development Manager at THL.
The FinChildren survey for parents of preschool children was carried out in cooperation with the Future Finland project in spring 2024. Such diverse data on preschool-aged children had not been collected before.
About 50,000 parents of children born in 2017 were invited to respond to the survey. Almost 13,000 parents responded, 64 per cent of whom were mothers and 36 per cent fathers or other parents.
The overall response rate of the survey was about 25 per cent, which should be taken into account in the interpretation of the results. Response rates were lower for younger respondents, people with a foreign background, non-Finnish or Swedish speakers, people living at an address different than the child, the only adults in their family and parents with a lower level of education.
The results of the study will be presented in a webinar (in Finnish) on 23 January at 13:00–15:15. The webinar is aimed especially at professionals, experts, managers and persons responsible for development, working in maternity and child health clinics, early childhood education and care and other family services, but is open to anyone interested in the topic.
More information
Webinar 23 January: How are families with preschool children doing? (in Finnish)
Maaret Vuorenmaa
Senior Researcher
THL
Tel. +358 29 524 7008
[email protected]
Sanna Nieminen
Development Manager
THL
Tel. +358 29 524 7355
[email protected]
Hanne Kalmari
Development Manager
THL
Tel. +358 29 524 7779
[email protected]
