Americans are more twice as likely to say that when they were growing up, they were closer to their moms than to their dads

A new YouGov survey explored whether Americans plan to celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, their relationships with their parents, and how they view their in-laws.

47% of Americans say they plan to celebrate Mother’s Day this year; 34% do not. Fewer Americans (34%) say they plan to celebrate Father’s Day this year and 45% do not.

One-third (32%) of Americans plan to celebrate both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Among people who have children under 18, 67% say they plan to celebrate Mother’s Day and 52% plan to celebrate Father’s Day.

Among people who plan to celebrate Mother’s Day, 64% say they plan to celebrate with their mother. 37% plan to celebrate with their children and/or stepchildren, 28% will celebrate with their partner, 17% will celebrate with their sibling, and 13% will celebrate with their mother-in-law.

The survey also asked about parental roles. Among people who were raised by a mother and father, three-quarters (75%) say their mother did more housework when they were growing up. Only 4% say their father did more housework, while 18% say their parents shared this equally. About half (53%) say their mother was more involved in their daily activities; 6% say their father was. 47% say their mother was more affectionate and 10% say their father was.
Majorities of Americans raised by a mother and father say their father is who they inherited their last name from (87%) and the parent who earned more money (73%). Americans are more likely to say their father was stricter than to say their mother was (43% vs. 29%).

Women are more likely than men to say they more frequently turned to their mother for advice (43% vs. 24%) and that their mother was stricter (35% vs. 23%). They are less likely than men to say their mother was more affectionate than their father (39% vs. 54%).

Men are more likely than women to say they resemble their fathers more than their mothers (49% vs. 29%). They are also more likely to say their fathers were stricter (48% vs. 38%) and that they turned to their fathers more often for advice (22% vs. 14%).

Among married people, majorities say they have harmonious relationships with their in-laws. 53% of Americans say they have never quarreled with their mother-in-law. 21% say they have done so rarely, 12% say they have sometimes argued, and only 4% say they have often quarreled with their mother-in-law.

62% of married Americans say they have never quarrelled with their father-in-law. 14% have done so rarely, 7% say they’ve sometimes argued with their father-in-law, and 2% say they often have.

Married people who are parents of children under 18 are more likely to have quarreled with their in-laws. 25% of married parents to children under 18 say they’ve often (4%) or sometimes (20%) quarrelled with their mother-in-law; 10% of married people who are not parents to children under 18 say the same.

18% of married people with children under 18 say they’ve sometimes or often argued with their father-in-law; only 4% of married people who do not have children under 18 say the same.

Few married Americans say that their mother-in-law (9%) or father-in-law (8%) has made it harder for them to have a successful marriage. 27% say their mother-in-law has made it easier for them to have a successful marriage; 28% say the same about their father-in-law. 29% say their mother-in-law hasn’t made a difference in the difficulty of their marriage and 44% say this about their father-in-law.

34% of married Americans with children under 18 say their father-in-law has made it easier for them to have a successful marriage. 27% say the same about their mother-in-law.

— Carl Bialik contributed to this article

Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on April 23 - 28, 2026 among 1,134 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.

Image: Getty (SanyaSM)

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