Parents today don’t have the same dreams for their children as previous generations since three in five (59%) don’t want to see their kid end up in an office all day, according to new research.
Three in four parents say they already know what their child will be when they grow up.
The study of 2,000 parents of school-aged children revealed 35% see their kids headed for a STEM profession while 28% see their kids as chefs in the making in the food industry.
The survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Osmo revealed four in five parents want to “future-proof” their kids so they have the necessary skills to be successful as adults.
This isn’t surprising seeing as three in four parents are hoping their child will “hit it big” to take care of them in the older years.
Among the top “future-proofing” methods parents are using were: encouraging children to pursue learning about topics they’re already passionate about (67%) and subtly squeezing a bit of learning in through educational shows and games (53%).
Seventy-four percent of parents confessed to encouraging their children in areas that parents felt incompetent in, like STEM, so their kids’ skills are more well-rounded.
Parents are most likely to feel incompetent when it comes to mathematics (38%), technology (36%) and science (30%).
Writing and grammar (28%) and history (27%) rounded out the top five.
Technology (67%), mathematics (54%) and science (30%) were found to be the topics parents most want their children to excel in.
Today’s children are already ahead of the game to a certain degree, especially when it comes to technology.
Seven in ten parents think their kids are better with tech than they are and 74% would even qualify their child as a “tech wizard.”
Sixty-three percent want their kids to do well with tech-related skills.
Many parents want to help their children hone those tech smarts for the future as 79% think it’s important to introduce vital skills to kids, like coding, at a young age, even though over a third of parents didn’t know exactly what coding is.
Still, three in four parents expect coding to be a requirement for jobs in the future and 78% want their kids to learn how to code now.
“Hands-on games help prepare kids for higher-level learning and build confidence around coding,” says Osmo CEO Pramod Sharma. “Through play, kids transform their tablet into a coding adventure, where they connect colorful blocks of code in the physical world to chart their adventure on the screen.”
Two-thirds of parents may want their children to learn about coding, but don’t know where to start.
Seven in ten think it should be mandatory to teach coding in elementary schools.
PARENTS’ AREAS OF INCOMPETENCY
- Mathematics 38%
- Technology 36%
- Science 30%
- Writing and grammar 28%
- History 27%
- Physical fitness 23%
- Culinary skills 23%
- Arts 21%
PARENTS’ GUESSES AT CHILDREN’S FUTURE CAREER INTERESTS
- STEM 35%
- Healthcare and wellness 32%
- Food 28%
- Construction 23%
- Environment 23%
- Creative art and fashion 23%
- Agriculture 23%
- Sport 21%
- Education 21%
- Accounting 20%
- Media and publishing 19%
- Business and sales 19%
- Government and law 18%
- Tourism 14%
PARENTS’ CAREER WISHES FOR THEIR CHILDREN
- STEM 39%
- Healthcare and wellness 33%
- Food 26%
- Environment 24%
- Accounting and finance 23%
- Business and sales 22%
- Construction 21%
- Sport 21%
- Agriculture 20%
- Education 20%
- Government and law 20%
- Creative arts and fashion 20%
- Media and publishing 19%
- Tourism 15%
