A study was conducted to discern who has the most influence on a child's upbringing

In Uzbekistan, a study was conducted aimed at determining the role of parents in the upbringing of children and their choice of profession, as well as the importance of this in promoting a carefree old age.  The study was carried out by specialists of the Institute of Macroeconomic and Territorial Studies.

As part of the research, a survey was also conducted with the participation of parents of children aged between 10 to 22 years.

2100 people participated in the survey (N=2100).  72% of the respondents were women, 28% were men.  In relation to levels of education, 4.6% of them have a scientific degree, 36.1% have a higher education, 21.2% have a secondary education, and 38.2% have a secondary special education.

According to the results, it was found that 28.7% of the respondents live with their elderly parents.

When asked who has the most influence on the upbringing of their children, 41.6% of parents say that it is the mother, 27.4% the father, 9.3% the grandparents, 8.1% the siblings, 7.3% teachers, 3.7% were strangers and 2.5% were other relatives.

 It was shown that most of the participants (80.2%) want to see their children as being mature specialists in a particular profession, or as acclaimed/influential people.  Financial security and owning property remains the second dream (7.9%).  The answers to this question do not differ neither according to the nationality and level of education of the parents, nor the gender of the child.

Most parents (95.8 percent) consult each other about their children’s future.  In 88.3% of cases, their opinion came from the same place, and in 7.2% of cases, opinions differed sharply.  The answers to the survey showed that parents pay attention to the opinion of children when planning their children’s future.  97.9% of parents discussed this topic with their children, 86.3% approved their child’s choice, 11.1% partially approved, and 1.3% were not satisfied.

According to the answers to the survey, it was found that young people are interested in medical professions (15.5%).  The following professions were next on the list, teaching (9.7 percent), IT specialist (9.3 percent), economists (by industry) (8.2 percent), entrepreneurs (7.7 percent).  2.5% of the respondents stated that their children have not yet decided on a future profession.  As expected, girls are more likely to choose medicine (16.3 percent) or teaching (13.8 percent) professions, while boys are more likely to choose IT (18.7 percent), followed by medicine  (13.7 percent), economist (13.2 percent) and entrepreneur (11.2 percent) as preferred professions.

No matter what their child’s career decision is, 81.6% of parents said that they would accept this decision willingly, and 12.7% said that they would request that this decision be changed.

55.7% of parents said that they should be demanding of their children and provide help when needed, 36.2% of parents said that it is necessary to educate them through supervision, and 6.4% said that they should give their children freedom.

More than 20 percent of parents who participated in the survey said that they communicate with their children’s teachers once a month, and 16.4 percent do not communicate at all.