Young Hispanic Parents: The Protectors.

By Insight Tr3s

Father’s Day is this weekend, and to celebrate Tr3s is revealing more of its latest research on today’s young Hispanic parents from its 2012 research study, Hispanic Adult Millennials Living the Next Normal: Age of Uncertainty. Last month in our blog, we showed that young Hispanic parents today are not gatekeepers but fortress keepers. They decide carefully what to keep out of kids’ lives and are very selective about what they let in. And fortress keepers aren’t just moms – young dads are also highly involved in controlling their children’s environments. The following are some more trends in parenting among young Latinos:

They are extremely protective of their kids – many dads in particular say they don’t want to take their eyes off of them. Fearing danger to their kids, they want to make sure that their kids are safe around whoever and whatever (people and products) they come in contact with.

Young Hispanic parents are true partners, functioning as teams. They work together to make sure their kids are safe.

They see communication as a two-way street and want their kids to be able to tell them anything. Many feel they were raised by authoritarian parents who ruled by fear. As a result, they were not as open with their moms and dads. Young Hispanic parents feel they can’t protect their kids if they don’t know what’s happening in their lives, so they encourage better communication.

They find it difficult to leave kids in daycare, but it’s a necessity for many. While they would prefer to have only close family watching their kids, that’s not an option for everyone. Those with kids in daycare struggle with the idea of leaving their kids with others — but at the same time they also see the value of providing socialization.

Grandparents are a trusted source of childcare help. Young Hispanic parents trust their own parents with their kids more than anyone else – and for 3 out of 4, their parents are involved in daily childrearing. Hispanic grandparents are also more highly involved in their grandkids’ lives than non-Hispanics. Additionally, Hispanic grandmothers are more likely to help shop and cook.

Because they are so trusted, grandparents are also the most important source of childrearing information. Over half of young Hispanic parents report that they receive the most information about raising kids from their parents. In this case, Grandma actually trumps the internet: while young Hispanic parents use the internet as a resource for childrearing information, less than 1 in 10 say they use it “the most.”

Source: Tr3s 2012 “Hispanic Adult Millennials Living the Next Normal: Age of Uncertainty”