Child-centered America - Americans' attitude towards children

American Demographics, Nov, 1997 by Bernice Kanner

There's plenty of argument these days on whether U.S. parents are spending enough time with their children, yet collectively, we certainly seem to be coddling them.

If there's one seat on the bus, 57 percent of Americans believe it should go to an able-bodied 7-year-old girl or boy, rather than to an able-bodied 35-year-old woman.

If misfortune seated them near a frisky and whining child on an airplane flight, most people would try to make the best of a bad situation. Some 58 percent say they'd ignore the child as best as they could. Another 9 percent suspect they'd glare at the parents; 14 percent would take matters into their own hands by trying to reason with the child. Four percent would search for another seat, and 6 percent would ask the flight attendant to intervene. Ten percent say they'd plead with the parent to subdue the child.

Tough love appears to be an oxymoron for many Americans. Only 40 percent believe that sparing the rod will spoil the child. Almost six in ten say it's never permissible for a teacher to spank a child, while 35 percent would allow it on the rare occasion when a child grievously misbehaves. (Eight percent are undecided.)

Adults may become less indulgent of children by the time they're age 10. If a 10-year-old loses a library book, 86 percent of respondents think the child should pay the fine from his or her allowance. Yet 13 percent think it should come from the parents' largesse, and 1 percent figure it takes a village to raise a child, so let the library pay.