Sйlection du Reader's Digest Teens Grading Parents

Virtually All Moms Get An Overall Good Grade, One In Three Dads Need Some Tutoring Sessions Moms Beat Dads In All Areas Hands Down

19 May 2004

Trends & Prospective

Toronto, ON - Any student knows how it feels to bring a report card home from school to show their parents. Well Sйlection du Reader's Digest figured it was time to turn the tables. Participating in an online Reader's Digest/Ipsos-Reid survey, teenagers living in Quebec gave mom and/or dad a report card on how good of a job they're doing as parents. Teens and their parents can then use the report card to discuss the "grades" and any issues that they find.

Nine in ten (89%) teens living in Quebec give their Mom an overall good grade, with half (49%) giving her an `A.' On the other hand, just two in three (64%) give dad an overall good grade, with one-quarter (27%) giving him an `A.'

The teens were asked to grade their Mom's and Dad's performance in a number of different areas. Moms get the most `A's for simply being someone they like (76% give an `A'), providing a home that is happy and safe (75% give an `A'), and making an effort for birthdays (74% give an `A'). Dads get the most `A' s for working hard (59% give an `A'). Like Moms, Dads also excel in simply being someone they like (54% give an `A') and providing a home that is happy and safe (53% give an `A'), but not to the same extent. In fact, Moms beat Dads in all areas except driving, where the results are actually quite close (43% Dad vs. 41% Mom).

Moms need to shape up most in giving good advice without lecturing or preaching (17% give an `A'), talking things through without losing their temper (20% give an `A'), and not pressuring or guilt tripping them (24% give an `A'). Dads also need to shape up in giving good advice without lecturing or preaching (9% give an `A') and talking things through without losing their temper (10% give an `A'), but above all they need the most help with fashion (7% give an `A').

Six in ten Moms get good grades in Sex Ed. (62% score `A' and `B') compared to one-quarter of Dads (24%). One in ten (11%) Moms haven't explained sex to their teens at all compared to one-quarter (24%) of Dads.

Six in ten (61%) teenagers living in Quebec consider Mom to be cool compared to one in three (34%) teenagers who think Dad's cool. Less than one in ten consider Mom and Dad "uncool" (6% and 8% respectively). One in five (18%) teens living in Quebec consider Mom to be too strict, compared to one in four (25%) who think Dad's too strict. One in ten don't think Mom and Dad are strict enough (14% and 10% respectively). Most teens think Mom and Dad are just strict enough (67% and 48% respectively)!

No one thing stands out for things Quebec teens will do differently when they become parents. However top mentions are less strict (19% future moms, 18% future dads) and show more interest (11% future moms, 12% future dads). Three in ten (30%) future moms and one in four (26%) future dads say they will do nothing differently insinuating they're parents are good the way they are.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for Sйlection du Reader's Digest between January 16th and January 21st, 2004. The online survey is based on a randomly selected sample of 500 teenagers living in Quebec; 100 from each age between 14 and 18 with a 50/50 gender split. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of Quebec residents between the ages of 14 and 18 been polled. The margin of error will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population.

Virtually All Mom's Receive An Overall Good Grade Compared To Two In Three Dads

15 year olds are less likely than others to give Dad an `A' or `B' overall (56% vs. 66%).

In All Cases But One (Driving), Moms Beat Dads Hands Down

Moms get the most `A's for simply being someone they like (76% give an `A'), providing a home that is happy and safe (75%), and making an effort for birthdays (74%). Dads get the most `A' s for working hard (59%). Like Moms, Dads also excel in simply being someone they like (54%) and providing a home that is happy and safe (56%), but not to the same extent. In fact, Moms beat Dads in all areas except driving, where the results are actually quite close (43% Dad vs. 41% Mom).

Moms need to shape up most in giving good advice without lecturing or preaching (17%), talking things through without losing their temper (20%), and not pressuring or guilt tripping them (24%). Dads also need to shape up in giving good advice without lecturing or preaching (9%) and talking things through without losing their temper (10%), but above all they need the most help with fashion (7%).

14 year olds are more likely than older teenagers to give an `A' or `B' to:

Their mother for helping them with their homework (72% vs. 61%);
Their mother for encouraging them (93% vs. 84%);
Their mother for showing them how to cope with problems (82% vs. 72%);
Their mother for teaching them values to live by (93% vs. 84%);
Their father for giving good advice about drugs (68% vs. 55%); and
Their mother (93% vs. 86%) and their father (66% vs. 54%) for being interested in what's going on in their life.

16 year olds are more likely than other teenagers to give an `A' or `B' to:

Their mother for being a good cook (90% vs. 79%).

17 year olds are more likely than other teenagers to give an `A' or `B' to:

Their mother for being a proud of them (89% vs. 80%);
Their father for knowing their best friends' names (52% vs. 39%);
Their father for setting reasonable curfews (65% vs. 56%); and
Their father for having values they admire and respect (69% vs. 58%).

18 year olds are more likely than other teenagers to give an `A' or `B' to:

Their mother for allowing them to be independent (84% vs. 73%).

Girls are more likely than boys to give an `A' or a `B' to:

Their father for being proud of them (70% vs. 61%);
Their father for giving them a reasonable amount of pocket money (44% vs. 32%);
Their father for having values they admire and respect (65% vs. 56%); and
Their mother (89% vs. 82%) and their father (68% vs. 57%) for teaching them values to live by.

Neither Mom Or Dad Excels In Sex Ed., But Mom Certainly Does Better

Girls are more likely than boys to give their mother an `A' or a `B' for her attempts at Sex Ed (67% vs. 58%), while boys are more likely not to have gotten the talk at all (15% vs. 8%).
Girls are more likely than boys not to have gotten the talk at all from Dad (28% vs. 20%).

Moms Cooler Than Dads, But Dads Aren't Any More "Uncool"

Most Think Parents Are Strict Enough, Although Slightly More Dads Considered Too Strict

One in five (18%) teens living in Quebec consider Mom to be too strict, compared to one in four (25%) who think Dad's too strict. One in ten don't think Mom and Dad are strict enough (14% and 10% respectively). Most teens think Mom and Dad are strict enough (67% and 48% respectively).

Many Won't Do Anything Different When They Become Parents

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

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

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

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