Millennial Parents Have High Aims for Their Kids but Also Want to Instill Deeper Values

11/15/13

Millennial parents’ top source of parenting advice, by a large margin, is their own mothers, according to a Barkley study of 25-to-34-year-olds with children at home. More than half cite their moms as the strongest influence on their parenting, almost five times more than cite any other influence, including their fathers.

Millennial parents’ priorities for their children include a mixture of pragmatic goals and deeper values, such as providing a college education and wanting them to be successful in business while at the same time teaching them that they don’t need material possessions to be happy. Millennial parents hope to instill their own values in their children; more than half would be disappointed if their kids rejected the beliefs they’re raising them with.

Most millennial parents say their work/life balance has become more important to them since becoming parents, and seven in 10 feel confident about their parenting abilities.

The majority of millennials say either they or their spouses/partners handle the child care in their own homes (65%), while 22% say their kids go to licensed day care centers. More than one in four say their kids are cared for by relatives, either in their own homes (16%) or at the home of the relative providing care (10%).

Although millennials take a more egalitarian approach to child care than previous generations, there is still a disparity in perception about who handles the majority of this responsibility. Almost two-thirds of millennial fathers (64%) say they share the responsibilities of child rearing equally with their partners, compared with 50% of millennial mothers who say so. Almost half of millennial mothers (49%) say they play the lead role in child rearing, while 14% of millennial fathers say their spouses/partners play the lead role. One in five millennial fathers (22%) say they play the lead role in child rearing, while only 1% of millennial mothers say their spouses/partners perform this role.

Millennial parents focus on buying whole, organic, and/or locally produced foods to feed their families, though fewer than four in 10 say they actively avoid processed foods or those with preservatives.

Only 37% of millennial parents strongly agree with the statement “I’m the same person now that I was before I became a parent,” and 45% strongly disagree. Among the many shifts in attitude that coincide with parenthood are receptivity to marketing, brand and retailer preferences, and purchase motivations. Nearly half of millennial parents (48%) say they’re less willing than they were before having children to disclose their private information to marketers in exchange for perks and promotional offers.

Before having kids, the millennials in the study made purchase decisions based on quality over price by a 57%-to-43% margin, with significant variation by product category. After having kids, the ratio shifted to 52% to 48%. In eight out of 10 categories studied, millennials’ buying decisions became more strongly influenced by price after becoming parents. Groceries and automobiles were the only two categories in which the focus shifted toward quality after having children.

Changes in millennials’ favorite brands after becoming parents also reflect a greater focus on value.

The study also includes detailed profiles of five distinct “orbits” of millennial parents, including information on income, demographics, attitudes, and parenting styles.

SOURCE: “Millennials as New Parents: The Rise of a New American Pragmatism,” September 2013, Barkley, Jeff Fromm, SVP Sales, Marketing & Innovation, 1740 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64108; 816-423-6195; jfromm@barkleyus.com; www.barkleyus.com. Price: Contact for information. 

© 2013 Business Valuation Resources, LLC (BVR). May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.

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