LISTENING TO PARENTS - A NATIONAL SURVEY OF PARENTS WITH YOUNG-CHILDREN

Objective: To document the child-rearing needs and pediatric health ca re experiences of parents with children from birth to 3 years old. Des ign: A nationally representative sample of 2017 parents with children younger than 3 years using a 25-minute structured telephone questionna ire. Interviews were completed by 68% of the screened eligible respond ents. The margin of sampling error for results at the 95% confidence l evel was +/-3 percentage points. Results: Seventy-six percent of child ren younger than 3 years were reported by parents to be in excellent h ealth; 88% had a regular source of pediatric health care. Seventy-one percent of parents who received special pediatric services rated their child's physician as excellent in providing good health care. Seventy -nine percent of parents reported they could use more information in a t least 1 of 6 areas of child rearing, and 53% wanted information in a t least 3 areas. Forty-two percent had talked with their child's physi cian about ''nonmedical'' concerns; 39% of parents read to or looked a t a picture book with their child on a daily basis; 51% of parents set daily routines for meals, naps, and bedtime. Breast-feeding and readi ng to the child on a daily basis were much more likely if a physician encouraged parents to do so. Conclusions: Most parents view the pediat ric health care system as meeting the physical health needs of their y oung children. Parents want more information and support on child-rear ing concerns, yet pediatric clinicians often fail to discuss nonmedica l questions with them. The interventions of pediatric clinicians can p ositively affect parental behavior. Pediatric practices should conside r creative ways to reconstitute and augment their current services and systems of care.