_ Patrick T. Brown, fellow, EPPC. IFS. Charlottesville. 16 February 2023.
The overwhelming majority of parents in a new national poll said the cost of living makes it hard to have kids (84 percent) and that it is too easy for kids to find sexually-explicit content online (86 percent), according to a new report released today from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) and Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC). Additionally, two-thirds of all parents in the survey disagreed that marriage is an “outdated institution,” and 64 percent said it is too easy to get divorced.
The report uses a YouGov poll of 2,557 U.S. adults, including an oversample of parents, to hear from parents on the challenges they face, and to recommend legislative action by federal lawmakers.
When parents were asked about legislative changes they would support:
· 82 percent agreed that a family with a worker present should be eligible for the full value of the Child Tax Credit.
· 80 percent supported requiring parental permission before a minor opens a social media account, and 77 percent supported giving parents administrator-level access to what kids are seeing and doing online.
· 71 percent supported a federal six-week benefit for new moms.
· 65 percent supported teaching the Success Sequence in schools.
Based on the polling results, the IFS/EPPC report recommends that Congress take the following actions:
· Strengthen the Child Tax Credit to bolster work and marriage in a fiscally prudent way.
· Give parents more tools to protect their kids online.
· Create a straightforward paid leave benefit for new parents with broad-based eligibility.
· Advance policies that strengthen the fundamental bonds of fathers, mothers, and their children.
· Reduce or eliminate marriage penalties facing low-income and working-class families.
To be politically successful, a pro-family agenda must prioritize parents’ values as well as their pocketbooks.
The full IFS/EPPC report can be downloaded here.