Cranium Family Fun Study

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of Cranium finds that Canadian parents of children 17 years of age or younger estimate that they spend a mean average of 24.3 hours a week doing activities in which they truly interact with their immediate family. This doesn't appear to be enough time for parents though: 85% say they wish that they could spend more quality time with their immediate family on a regular basis, with two-thirds (63%) who strongly feel this way.

Parents cite various reasons why their immediate family doesn't spend more time together: Not enough time (40%), the cost (18%), and difficulty in finding activities that are appealing to everyone (11%). The survey also finds that eight in ten (78%) parents are looking for new ways to help them communicate better with their kids.

Asked to think about the last time they really bonded with their immediate family, half (49%) of parents said "today", 17% said "yesterday", 21% said "this week", 6% said "this month" and 6% said "last month or longer ago".

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/Cranium poll conducted from August 30th to September 1st and September 6th to September 8th, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1054 adult Canadian parents of children 0-17 years of age was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian parent 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 population according to the 2001 Census data.

Canadian Parents Estimate That They Spend An Average Of 24 Hours A Week Truly Interacting With Their Family

Canadian parents of children 17 years of age or younger estimate that they spend a mean average of 24.3 hours a week doing activities in which they truly interact with their immediate family. Two in ten (20%) say they spend 1-9 hours truly interacting with their family, 27% spend 10-19 hours, 20% spend 20-29 hours, and 30% spend 30 hours or more a week truly interacting with their immediate family. Just 1% says they spend 0 hours a week. And, 2% "don't know."

• Regionally Atlantic Canadian parents (28.0 hours per week) and parents living in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (27.9 hours per week) appear to spend the most time truly interacting with their family, followed by parents in Ontario (24.8 hours per week), British Columbia (24.4 hours per week), Alberta (23.4 hours per week), and Quebec (21.5 hours per week).
• Mothers estimate spending more time truly interacting with their family than fathers do (27.2 vs. 21.1 hours per week).
• The estimated number of hours per week appears to decline with income level: Canadian parents with an annual household income of less than $30,000 estimate spending 27.1 hours per week, parents with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 estimate spending 24.2 hours per week, and parents with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater estimate spending 23.2 hours per week truly interacting with their immediate family.
• The estimated number of hours per week also appears to decline with child's age: Canadian parents with a child 0-5 years of age estimate spending 31.1 hours per week, parents of a child 6-12 years of age estimate spending 23.9 hours per week, and parents of a child 13-17 years of age estimate spending 20.4 hours per week truly interacting with their immediate family.

Most Parents Wish They Could Spend More Quality Time Together

A majority of 85% of parents agree with the statement, "I wish that they could spend more quality time with my immediate family on a regular basis" (63% "completely", 22% "somewhat"). Conversely, 14% disagree with the statement (9% "somewhat", 5% "completely").

• Quebec parents (90%) are most likely to wish they could spend more quality time with their immediate family on a regular basis, followed by parents in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (85%), Ontario (84%), Atlantic Canada (83%), British Columbia (83%), and Alberta (82%).
• Fathers are nominally more likely than mothers to agree (89% vs. 82%).
• Parents with an annual household income of less than $60,000 are nominally more likely than those with more to agree (89% vs. 82%).

So, Why Don't They Spend More Time Together?

Fifty-six percent of parents cite various reasons why their immediate family doesn't spend more time together: "Not enough time, busy with other obligations" (40%), "family outings and activities are expensive" (18%), and "it's hard to find activities that appeal to the entire family" (11%). Four in ten (40%) parents say "I already spend plenty of time with my family". The remaining 4% of parents answered "none of the above".

• Mothers are more likely than fathers to say "I already spend plenty of time with my family" (44% vs. 36%).
• The propensity to say "not enough time, busy with other obligations" increases with annual household income: 30% of parents with an annual household income of less than $30,000 say so, 39% of parents with an annual household income of $30,000-$59,999 say so, and 43% of parents with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater say the reason why they don't spend more time together is because of time/other obligations.
• Parents with an annual household income of less than $60,000 are more likely than parents with less to say they don't spend more time together because of the cost (23% vs. 13%).
• The propensity to say "it's hard to find activities that appeal to the entire family" increases with the child's age: 7% of parents of children 5 or younger say so, 11% of parents of children 6-12 years of age say so, and 15% of parents 13-17 years of age say it's hard to find activities that are appealing to the entire family.

A Majority Of Parents Are Looking For New Ways To Help Them Better Communicate With Their Kids

Eight in ten (78%) parents agree with the statement "I am looking for new ways to help me communicate better with my kids" (43% "completely", 34% "somewhat"). On the other hand, two in ten (21%) parents disagree with the statement (12% "somewhat", 9% "completely"). Another 1% is unsure.

• Parents in Quebec (82%) and Ontario (80%) are most likely to agree with the statement, followed by parents in British Columbia (79%), Alberta (73%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (69%), and Atlantic Canada (67%).

And, When Was The Last Time They Bonded With Their Immediate Family?

Asked to think about the last time they really bonded with their immediate family, half (49%) of parents said "today", 17% said "yesterday", 21% said "this week", 6% said "this month" and 6% said "last month or longer ago". Another 1% is unsure.

Parents in Atlantic Canada (58%), British Columbia (55%), and Ontario (51%) are most likely to say they bonded "today", followed by parents in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (48%), Alberta (47%), and Quebec (40%).

Mothers are more likely than fathers to say the last time they bonded was "today" (54% vs. 43%).

Canadian parents of children 0-5 years of age (56%) and 6-12 years of age (51%) are more likely than those whose kids are 13-17 years of age (43%) to say the last time they bonded was "today".

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Jennifer McLeod
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos-Reid
416.324.2900
[email protected]

Ipsos-Reid
Ipsos-Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos-Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada--including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country--all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos-Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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

Ipsos
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