Most parents feel that mothers and fathers do not spend enough time with their children and that work patterns are negatively affecting the parenting of young people.
These are among the findings of a national opinion poll on childhood commissioned by the children's charity Barnardos which sought the views of hundreds of parents and children across the country.
The poll, undertaken by Behaviours & Attitudes, found that 62 per cent of parents felt that mothers and fathers generally did not spend enough time with children.
However, these figures fall dramatically when parents were asked about the time they spent with their own children.
A significant difference was evident between two-income households and single-income households. Where both parents worked full-time, 36 per cent of parents said they were very satisfied with the time they spent with their children, rising to 52 per cent among households where one parent stayed at home.
Another sign of the changing environment in which children are raised was in statistics relating to how many young people have TVs or DVD players in their bedrooms.
A total of 32 per cent of children say they have access to a TV in their own room, while 21 per cent say they have access to a DVD player in their room. Just over 5 per cent say they have access to a computer or the internet on their own.
Overall, most parents (78 per cent) felt their children's childhood was better than their own. The main reasons cited included more money, more games and more opportunities.
Most children (75 per cent) also felt they had a better childhood than their parents for broadly the same reasons.
There was also a broad consensus among children and adults about what makes a good childhood. Significantly, a safe community rated highly among both children and adults.
The vast majority of children said a loving family was a key ingredient (95 per cent), followed by friends (87 per cent), a safe community (84 per cent) and access to education (82 per cent).
When parents and children were asked about their top concerns, bullying emerged as a key issue.
Some 39 per cent of children cited it as their main concern, followed by parental conflict in the home (19 per cent), being overweight (19 per cent), and being unfit (19 per cent). Similarly, bullying was a top concern for parents about their own children (23 per cent), followed by anxiety or stress (12 per cent).
Parents appear to feel deep anxiety over aspects of their children's lives, with the vast majority (79 per cent) agreeing that children are less safe today compared with their own childhood.
Some 32 per cent of parents admitted to monitoring their children's mobile phone messages. The internet was seen to be a bigger danger as it opened children to communication with people they did not know.
Just over a third (34 per cent) of parents said they were aware of their children drinking alcohol, 18 per cent said they knew their son or daughter smoked cigarettes, and 7 per cent knew their children were sexually active.
Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said the research provided a valuable snapshot of what life is like in Ireland today for children and their parents.
"What the poll has revealed is a family portrait of parents and children, happy in themselves and with each other. In the background, however, are a range of anxieties for both children and parents: bullying, stress and anxiety, parental conflict, to name a few," he said.
