2026
Moms and dads find parenting most difficult at different child ages
People often wonder at what age children are most difficult. Using data from our recent survey of 24,000 parents, we get a clear answer: for moms, parenting feels very hard with a newborn in the house, and peaks when young children are entering school. For dads, 1-year-olds are especially difficult, but teenagers pose the greatest challenge. While there are some spikes in parenting difficulty at young ages, the hardest parts of parenting appear to be when children are making major transitions in their relationships with their parents—moms have a hard time as their children start to develop wider social worlds beyond the home, and dads have a hard time as children start to leave the protective space of the household.
Mothers earn a rising share of household income
As recently as 1968, family income was typically earned entirely by the father. But from 1968 to 2000, families saw a dramatic change in who brings in the money. By 2000, the median married family household had the mother earning 29% of the family income. Moms have since continued to make gains in household income. Today, the typical married family household has dads making 66% of household earnings, with moms making the other 34%. This trend is largely driven by mothers working more hours overall.
Preference for political compatibility is split by partisanship
How picky is America’s rising generation when it comes to dating and marriage? New research from Wendy Wang, IFS Director of Research, shows that liberal young adults are more likely to prize political compatibility than their conservative peers. Specifically, 60% of liberal women ages 18 to 29 said it is “very important” for their life partner to share their political views. This compares to 47% of young liberal men, 37% of young conversative men, and 36% of young conservative women who prioritize an ideological match with a life parter. Earlier research from Wang shows that political “mixed” couples are less likely to be satisfied with their marriages, with one caveat: couples of one Democrat and one Republican are about as happy as politically-aligned Democrat or Independent couples.
American Voters Support State-Level AI Regulation
The White House has taken a stand against AI regulation bills in Florida and Utah that would require safeguards for minors, including transparency measures mandating that AI companies publish child safety plans. However, a 2026 IFS brief on voter opinions toward AI reveals that Americans think differently. While the administration seeks to block state-level intervention, Americans express strong bipartisan support for firm guardrails, with over 60% of Trump and Harris voters backing state regulation of AI. Moreover, 82% of Harris voters and 77% of Trump voters think that tech companies should be held liable for child harm. These findings demonstrate that a clear bipartisan majority supports stronger state regulation to ensure that AI develops safely, especially when it comes to protecting children.
Young married men and women are the happiest
Among men and women ages 22 to 35, married young adults are the happiest. 34% of young married men reported being “very happy” as opposed to “pretty happy” or “not too happy.” This compares to just 14% of unmarried men. Likewise married young women are significantly happier than their unmarried peers: 41% of married women ages 22 to 35 report being very happy, compared to just 16% of young, unmarried women. Some evidence suggests that this is partly a selection effect—happier people are more likely to marry. But analysis from IFS senior fellow Lyman Stone shows that, yes, marriage makes people happier.
Most Kids Aren’t Allowed to Venture Far By Themselves
How far do you let your kid walk alone? A newly released report from IFS scholars Lyman Stone, Michael Toscano, and Ken Burchfiel shows how far parents allow their children to walk or bike unaccompanied. 14-year-old children are typically allowed to walk less than half of a mile from home. Even for 17-year-olds, most parents do not allow their child to walk more than a mile away from home. The report finds that children raised to be more independent, with greater freedom to venture from home alone, and less tech time have better mental health outcomes. At the same time, the authors find that parents are more likely to report that parenting is hard when raising their children in more independent and low-tech households.
Teenagers Are Less Social than Decades Past
The social landscape among teenagers has changed drastically over the past four decades. American high schoolers are going out less and spending more time alone. In the 1980s, 88% of high school seniors reported visiting friends at least weekly. Just 69% of teens today report the same. Likewise, 74% of '80s teens reported going to parties at least monthly. Today, just 44% of high schooler report the same. What are modern American teens doing instead? Spending more time alone. Whereas 43% of high school seniors from the 1980s report spending an hour of leisure time alone daily or near daily, three-in-four today report this frequent time alone. All of this points to a broader retreat from social life among the rising generation.
Half of women childless at 30 never had children
With young adults dating less and postponing marriage, many are hoping to get hitched and have babies down the road. But if historical data can teach us anything, many will be disappointed. It’s true that, historically, more than 4-in-5 women became mothers. But delayed motherhood may change this story. Retrospective data from women ages 46 to 50 in the National Survey of Family Growth show that just half of all women who were childless at the age of 30 went on to have children. First-time childbirth falls drastically through early 30s. Just a quarter of those who were childless at 35 went on to become mothers. And despite the low odds of later-in-life motherhood, a massive three-in-five 35-year-old women today say they hope to have children one day.
Majority of Married and Unmarried Mothers Work Full Time
How has full-time work among married and unmarried mothers compared historically? An IFS report by Wendy Wang and Jenet Erickson answers this question, finding that in 1970, nearly twice as many unmarried mothers of young children were working full-time compared to married mothers of young children. Through the rest of the twentieth century, this gap shrank until the mid- to late-90s, when full-time work among unmarried mothers spiked post-PRWORA, peaking at 63% in 2000. Since then, the shares of unmarried and married mothers working full time have converged, with both exceeding a majority. In 2024, for the first time more married mothers than unmarried mothers worked full time.
Parents More Worried About AI Than Climate Change
A 2026 IFS brief on artificial intelligence found that about 40% of parents are concerned about how AI will impact their children's careers. A similar share worry about how technology is changing childhood. American parents today are far more worried about technology than they are about how climate change might impact their kids. Likewise, they are more worried about tech than they are about failing to pass on their values to their children. While health, wellness, and educational concerns still predominate, it's worth realizing: AI concerns didn't exist at all six years ago. In a short window, an entirely new concern has landed on parents' plates.
