Coming Clean

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of Canadian Tire, 20% of Canadian parents admit to never cleaning their children's toys. Others scrub them with soap and water (39%), rinse them under water (17%), or spray them with an antibacterial solution (14%).

Similarly, 7% of parents say they never wash bagged lettuce, salads, fruits or vegetables before serving them and another 11% rarely do so. The good news is that a majority (56%) always wash their bagged fruits and vegetables and 23% sometimes do. Parents may not be washing their produce well enough though, most say they usually clean their fruits and veggies by rinsing them under water and another 1% simply wipes them on a shirt or a towel! Just 6% scrub their fruits and vegetables with soap and water before eating or serving them and 3% use a special cleaning solution.

• Quebec parents appear to go to greater extents in cleaning than parents in other regions. Half (49%) of Quebec parents scrub their children's toys with soap and water (vs. 35% in the rest of Canada) and they're more likely to always/sometimes wash bagged fruits and veggies (65% vs. 54% in the rest of Canada).
• Dads are more likely than moms to never wash their children's toys (25% vs. 15%) or to simply rinse them under water (20% vs. 14%), while moms are more likely to scrub them with soap and water (44% vs. 33% of dads). However, Dads are more likely than moms to always wash bagged fruits and veggies (63% vs. 50% of moms), whereas moms are more likely to only do so only sometimes (27% vs. 19%).

Finally, most parents prepare their family's meals and snacks on a cutting board (44%) or directly on the kitchen counter top (43%). Another 10% use a plate and 2% work off of the kitchen table.

• Moms are more likely than dads to prepare food on a cutting board (49% vs. 39%), whereas dads are more likely to use a plate (13% vs. 8% of moms).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/Canadian Tire poll conducted from June 22 to 25, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1056 adult Canadians who have a child/children under the age of 18 in the household was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/-3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had this entire population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian parent population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 300 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

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