One-Third Of Parents Say They Have Not Enrolled Their Child In Sports Because Of Cost

Toronto, ON - One-third (36%) of Canadian parents of a child under the age of 18 say they have not been able to enrol their child/children in organized sports when they wanted to because it was too expensive, according to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Canadian Tire. It comes as no surprise then that when given a list of five possible reasons why kids may not be participating in active sports and/or other recreational activities and asked which one they think is the most common reason why kids do not participate, one-quarter (24%) of Canadians said "they're too expensive." Other reasons are outlined on the pages that follow.

Some good news: Two-thirds (67%) of Canadians say if they could, they would help a child from a low-income family participate in an organized sporting activity by making a financial donation.

What are the perceived biggest benefits of a child having an active lifestyle? When given a list of seven benefits and asked which they feel is the biggest, more than half (55%) of Canadians say "overall good health and well-being." Other perceived biggest benefits are outlined on the pages that follow.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Canadian Tire poll conducted from January 28th to January 31st, 2005. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians 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 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.

One-third (36%) of Canadian parents of a child under the age of 18 say they have not been able to enrol their child/children in organized sports when they wanted to because it was too expensive. Conversely, 63% say this has not been a problem.

• Canadians with an annual household income less than $60,000 are significantly more likely than those with an annual household income of $60,000 or more to say they have not been able to enrol their child/children in organized sports when they wanted to because it was too expensive (53% vs. 20%).

• Women are more likely than men to say they have not been able to enrol their child/children in organized sports when they wanted to because it was too expensive (48% vs. 26%).

When given a list of five possible reasons why kids may not be participating in active sports and/or other recreational activities and asked which one they think is the most common reason why kids do not participate, one-quarter (24%) of Canadians said "they're too expensive." Other responses are as follows: "Kids would rather participate in sedentary or inactive activities such as watching TV or playing video/computer games" (40%); "parents don't have enough time" (22%); "kids aren't interested in participating in these activities" (8%); and "they're too far away" (2%). Another 3% said none of these reasons and 1% were unsure.

• Canadians with an annual household income less than $60,000 are more likely than those with an annual household income of $60,000 or more to say "they're too expensive" (29% vs. 17%).

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (36%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (32%), Ontario (27%), and Alberta (27%) are more likely than residents of Quebec (14%) and British Columbia (17%) to say "they're too expensive."

• Residents Quebec (50%), British Columbia (47%), and Ontario (42%) are more likely than residents of Atlantic Canada (18%), Alberta (25%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (29%) to say "kids would rather participate in sedentary or inactive activities such as watching TV or playing video/computer games."

• Women are more likely than men to say "they're too expensive" (29% vs. 18%), while men are slightly more likely than women to say "kids would rather participate in sedentary or inactive activities such as watching TV or playing video/computer games" (44% vs. 37%).

Two-thirds (67%) of Canadians say if they could, they would help a child from a low-income family participate in an organized sporting activity by making a financial donation. Three in ten (31%) would not and 2% "don't know."

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (79%) would be most likely to donate followed by residents of Quebec (67%), British Columbia (67%), Ontario (65%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (64%), and Alberta (63%).

When given a list of seven benefits and asked which they feel is the biggest benefit of a child having an active lifestyle, more than half (55%) of Canadians said "overall good health and well-being." Less common responses are: "More confidence" (12%); "sociability" (9%); "self-discipline" (8%), "a healthy weight" (7%), "better attention span" (3%), and "it saves Canadian health and social services money" (3%). Another 2% say "none" and 1% was unsure.

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (65%) are most likely to say "overall good health and well-being," closely followed by residents of British Columbia (61%), Ontario (58%), Alberta (57%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (50%), and finally Quebec (47%).

• Women are more likely than men to say "overall good health and well-being" (60% vs. 50%).

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Dr. Glenys Babcock, Ph. D
Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900