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A 2026 Zero to Three survey of 2,200 parents of children ages 1 to 5 found that many describe their parenting as more affectionate and less accepting of physical discipline than their own parents’ approach. The nonprofit also reported changes in parents’ views of their role and confidence, though the survey compares respondents’ recollections with current practices rather than tracking the same families over time.
Parents of young children report more affection and less support for physical discipline than they experienced growing up, according to a 2026 survey by Zero to Three, a national nonprofit focused on infants and toddlers. The survey asked 2,200 parents of children ages 1 to 5 to compare their parenting with their own parents’ behavior, offering a snapshot of changing attitudes across generations.
More than half of respondents, 56%, said their parents used physical discipline with them when they were children but that they would not use the same approach. The share who said it was acceptable for a child to fear a parent as long as the child behaved fell to 23% in 2026, compared with 30% in a similar survey conducted in 2015.
Expressions of affection also differed across generations: 61% said they tell their children “I love you” more often than their own parents told them. In the report, Zero to Three described the broader pattern as a move toward more thoughtful and engaged parenting. The survey records respondents’ comparisons and views; it does not establish that every family has changed in the same way.
Respondents also reported different views of the challenges and rewards of parenting. In 2026, 56% agreed that being a parent was their biggest challenge, down from 73% in 2015. Meanwhile, 85% said they were proud of the parent they had become, while 53% wished they were a better parent; that latter figure was 60% in 2015.
Changing Views of Discipline and Care
The findings matter because discipline, affection and parental well-being shape everyday interactions between adults and young children. The reported rejection of physical punishment by many respondents points to a change in what some parents see as acceptable, while the figures on saying “I love you” reflect a greater emphasis on openly expressing support.
Zero to Three senior program officer Rebecca Parlakian said parents increasingly see themselves as teachers, guides and sources of unconditional love. She also said parents’ preference for gentler discipline does not mean they lack expectations: the nonprofit’s focus groups found parents wanted children to become helpful, smart and kind, but did not see harsh discipline as the route to those goals.
The results also highlight attention to caregivers’ mental health. The original report includes parents who described therapy and emotional self-regulation as part of their approach to parenting. Those personal accounts illustrate experiences behind the survey trends, but they should not be taken as a measure of how common therapy use or particular mental health experiences are among all parents.
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How the Generational Comparison Works
Zero to Three’s survey asked parents of children ages 1 to 5 to compare their own choices and attitudes with their memories of how they were parented. That design can capture perceived changes in family norms, but it is not a direct observation of how respondents’ parents behaved or a longitudinal study following the same households over decades.
The report compares several 2026 responses with results from a similar survey in 2015, including attitudes about whether a child should fear a parent and whether parenting is a person’s biggest challenge. Those comparisons describe survey responses at two points in time; the source material does not provide enough detail here to assess the full questionnaire, sampling method or margin of error.
Individual accounts in the report give examples of how some parents apply these views. Maryland mother Jazmine Perez Young described giving her children time to calm down safely before talking through a conflict. Queens, New York, mother Katie Bateman said she and her husband do not plan to use spanking with their toddler, although they are still working out how they will handle behavior.
“Parents really understand their role today as a teacher, a guide and also a source of unconditional love and support for their children.”
— Rebecca Parlakian, senior program officer at Zero to Three
Limits of the Survey Findings
The survey captures parents’ self-reported views and recollections, not independently verified accounts of their childhoods or observations of their current parenting. The material provided does not include the survey’s full methods, respondent demographics, question wording or margin of error, limiting how precisely the results can be generalized to all U.S. families.
It is also unclear from the reported findings what factors drove the changes between 2015 and 2026. The figures show differences in responses, but do not establish that a specific cultural shift, policy or trend caused them. Personal examples in the report—including accounts of therapy and postpartum mental health symptoms—are individual experiences, not population-level estimates.
What Further Evidence Could Show
The source material does not announce a follow-up survey or a specific next step from Zero to Three. The findings are therefore best read as a snapshot of how surveyed parents describe their approach in 2026, with the 2015 results offering a limited point of comparison.
Further reporting could examine the survey’s full methodology and whether attitudes differ across family circumstances, regions or other demographic groups. Additional surveys using comparable questions could show whether reported preferences around discipline, affection and parental confidence continue to change. For now, the report establishes what respondents said—not how every parent behaves or what caused the differences.
Key Questions
Who took part in the survey?
Zero to Three surveyed 2,200 parents of children ages 1 to 5 and asked them to compare their parenting with their own parents’ approaches.
What did respondents say about physical discipline?
Fifty-six percent said their parents used physical discipline when they were children but that they would not use the same approach with their own children.
Did more parents say they tell their children they love them?
Yes. Sixty-one percent said they tell their children “I love you” more often than their own parents did, according to the survey.
Can the survey show why parenting attitudes changed?
No. The reported results show respondents’ views and comparisons, but do not establish what caused the differences. The source material also does not provide full survey methods or a margin of error.
Source: the74million.org
