This document summarizes findings from an international survey of over 7,900 parents and 3,100 children about parenting and childhood. Some key findings: - Happiness is the top aspiration parents have for their children across all countries surveyed. Scandinavian and Benelux countries place the most importance on happiness. - Parents seek advice from their own parents/in-laws, friends, doctors, and various media sources like books and websites. Doctors and their own parents are most trusted sources. - Parents desire reliable information on parenting norms but find existing sources lacking. There is demand for trustworthy guidance but aversion to prescriptive advice.

1. International Summary
of Research Results

2. International
Summary
Table Of Contents
Table Of Contents....................................................................................................2
BACKGROUND AND TECHNICAL NOTES..............................................................................3
THE STATE OF PARENTHOOD............................................................................................4
1.1 ASPIRATIONS FOR CHILDREN (AQ2a-c).................................................4
1.2 PARENTAL INFORMATION - SOURCES AND TRUST (AQ1a, b)....................5
1.3 TIME PRESSURES AND ORGANISATION (AQ5.7, AQ5.2, CAQ5, CBQ10.7,
AQ5.5, AQ6.2, AQ5.6) .......................................................................7
1.4 SAFETY, CONCERN AND RISK AVERSION (AQ4, EQ2.1, EQ2.2, EQ2.6,
CEQ3.1)...........................................................................................9
1.5 FAMILY TIME AND MEALS (DQ1.1, DQ1.3, DQ1.6, CDQ2, DQ2, CDQ1,
BQ3.1/.2, CDQ3.1)..........................................................................11
THE STATE OF CHILDHOOD ............................................................................................13
ATTITUDES TO PLAY (CBQ1a, b, CCQ1, CBQ10.7).......................................13
ATTITUDES TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY (CCQ1.2, CBQ6-9, CAQ4, CBQ10.6).....14
TECHNOLOGY AND TOYS (CBQ1a, b, BQ1.1, CFQ1.7, CBQ10.4, CBQ11, CBQ12)
.....................................................................................................15
ASPIRATIONS (CGQ1).............................................................................16
PLAY...............................................................................................................................19
3.1 MEANINGS OF AND ATTITUDES TO PLAY (FQ1, CFQ1)..........................19
PLAY AND TIME (AQ3a-b, AQ9).................................................................21
PLAY, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT (CQ1.6, CQ1.7, CQ1.2, CQ1.5, BQ1.6,
CQ1.5, CCQ1).................................................................................23
3.4 PLAY, TECHNOLOGY AND TOYS (BQ2, BQ1.1, BQ1.5, BQ1.3, CQ1.1).......24
Prepared by
Family Kids and Youth
P.O. Box 25, 122 Watling Street
Radlett, Herts, WD7 8QR
Tel: +44 (0)1923 858438
www.kidsandyouth.com
April 2010
2
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

3. International
Summary
BACKGROUND AND TECHNICAL NOTES
• IKEA has undertaken a major research-driven project to investigate the subjects
of children’s development and play.
• Survey fieldwork was carried out online in 25 countries by Research Now,
London. Family Kids and Youth partnered with IKEA to design the questionnaire, analyse the
results and provide an overview of child development and background to the importance of
play. The countries surveyed were:
• 7.933 Internet-based interviews were conducted with parents (10 minutes’
duration) and 3,116 interviews with children (4 to 5 mins) during October and November
2009. In each country:
o at least 300 parents of 0-12 year olds were interviewed (50% mothers,
50% fathers)
o at least 100 children aged 7-12 were interviewed
• As all interviews were conducted via the Internet, these survey and report
findings only represent the views of parents and children with Internet access (usually at
home), sometimes referred to in this report as ‘online parents/children’. In surveyed
countries (e.g. China, Russia) where Internet access incidence is relatively low, the views of
lower income, rural, less technically literate and other parents may be underrepresented.
• Because of sampling confidence intervals, caution should be exercised when
findings are used. Generally, parent data differences between countries should equal or
exceed 10 % points to be statistically significant and differences between parent data for
one country and the all-country Index average (a straight, weighted average of all 25
country datasets) should equal or exceed 7 % points. Corresponding required differences for
the children’s survey data are approximately 15 and 10 % points. Family Kids and Youth
and Research Now are happy to advise further on data confidence issues.
3
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

4. International
Summary
THE STATE OF PARENTHOOD
1.1 ASPIRATIONS FOR CHILDREN (AQ2a-c)
BACKGROUND
Parents, naturally, want the best for their child, and playing with their child can be great fun for
adults
This does not have to be prescriptive, children naturally play
Parent-child play is a characteristic of developed Western societies, and is especially more likely to
be found in more educated and / or higher SES groups
Play transmits cultural values from one generation to the next, and this can be an important
function of adult-child play
Play can be fun for adults, but it can also be a means of distracting children, in order to keep them
occupied
• Happiness is almost universally parents’ main wish for their children:
Almost all online parents (All-country Index 87%) select ‘to be happy’ as one of their three
most important wishes for their children in future – with three quarters (Index 72%) also
selecting this as their single most important aspiration.
• Happiness of children appears to be particularly important to parents in
Scandinavia and Benelux: Online parents in (in order of strength of agreement) Finland,
Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the UK are most likely of all to select
happiness as one of their three top aspirations for their children. Parents in (in order of
weakness of agreement) Japan, Italy, Russia, France and USA are meanwhile least likely to
do so.
• Growing up to be thoughtful of others (Index 46%, top 3), financial
success (Index 45%) and having a family of their own (Index 34%) are also
relatively important parental aspirations.
• Thoughtfulness is particularly valued in Italy, Japan, Netherlands and, to
a lesser degree, in Australia, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It is least aspired to in
Hungary, Slovakia, Spain and Czech Republic.
• Financial success is most strongly aspired to by parents in Czech
Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Russia and least so in Netherlands, Japan, Sweden,
China, Italy and Norway.
• Parents in Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Slovakia and Russia are
most likely to wish for their children to have a family of their own, while those in
Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, China and USA are least so.
4
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

5. International
Summary
AQ2a-c: % of pare nts se le cting 'To be happy' as Top 3 m os t im portant w is h for childre n
93 84 85 94 94 88 86 88
100
87 87 87 83 92 82 83 89 86 81 80 81 90 88
91 87 91
82 87
80
% 60
40
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
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ly
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AQ2a-c: % of pare nts s electing 'To be financially succe s s ful 'as Top 3 m ost im portant w is h for childre n
100
69 68 66
80 51 60 52
45 45 42 45 46 49 50 43 40 50 44 45
% 60 34 34 32 30 34 36 36 33 36
40
20
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1.2 PARENTAL INFORMATION - SOURCES AND TRUST (AQ1a, b)
BACKGROUND
Parents are often hungry for information, but they will only trust that which is not patronising, nor
prescriptive
Finding time to play with children when parents are busy and preoccupied with concerns such as
family finances, job stability, and ensuring that their children are healthy, can be difficult
Understanding that play is as important to children as having the right diet and taking enough
exercise can help parents to put more emphasis on play
Play is generally encouraged by ‘experts’ and books and media that look at child development
It is often a feature of parenting courses, and is encouraged amongst lower SES families who are
perceived to be in need of such advice
• Both our international survey and our preliminary discussions with
parents around the world point to a strong demand for trustworthy information
sources about parenthood. Our discussions, in particular, pointed to a strong desire –
often unfulfilled - among parents everywhere to find reliable and authoritative ‘norms’ of
parenthood and information that would help them comply with these norms. Social or peer
acceptability appears to be an underlying driver here. Our international survey analysis
meanwhile throws more light on the differences in current use and trust of information
sources across the globe.
• Our All-country Index of international survey results demonstrates the
wide range of different information sources about parenting that are used around the
world – and shows which are trusted most by online parents:
5
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

6. International
Summary
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - AQ1a 'Where do y ou go for information and adv ice
on parenting?' & AQ1b: 'And which do y ou most trust for information and adv ice on
parenting?'
% Use Most trust
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Parents (/in-laws) 53
30
Friends 50
10
Books/magazines 48
10
Doctor/Health Professional 40
17
Websites, blogs etc 38
6
TV programmes 30
2
Other relatives 29
4
Online/Internet videos 21
2
Radio 6
0.5
DVDs 4
0.5
Other 3
2
None - use own knowledge/experience 14
14
None - trust my child to show/tell me 2
2
• Parents online around the world most commonly seek advice from their
own parents/parents in-law, friends, doctors and a wide range of different media
(most commonly books & magazines, websites & blogs and TV programmes). Use
of any media (books, magazines, TV programmes, DVDs, online video, websites/blogs and
radio) is particularly low in Hungary and is below average in Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
AQ1a: (parents) 'Whe re do you go for inform ation and advice on pare nting?' % s e le cting 'Any M edia'
(i.e. books , m agazine s , TV program m e s, DVDs, online vide o, w e bs ite s/blogs and radio)
94 76 80 86
100
66 65 69 67 71 65 73 79 72 65 66
80 55 58 57 62 63 56 56 58 65 62 62
% 60 40
40
20
0
st X
EX
C m
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• However, the sources parents most trust are far less diverse: their own
parents (/in-laws) and doctor or health professional are most often their most trusted
sources of information. Some interesting local variations present themselves though;
o levels of trust in doctors as a source of parental information are below the
Index average in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Norway and Sweden
o levels of trust in friends exceed the Index average in Denmark, Germany,
Japan, Norway and Sweden
o trust in books & magazines, TV programmes, DVDs and online video is
particularly high in China, replacing trust in parents/in-laws for many
o parents in Hungary, Netherlands, Norway are more likely than average to
prefer to trust their own knowledge and experience
6
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

7. International
Summary
• At international Index average level, parents of younger children (0-6
years) are more likely than parents of children aged 6 or older to consult all
available sources of information (people or media-based) and less likely to rely on their
own knowledge and experience.
1.3 TIME PRESSURES AND ORGANISATION (AQ5.7, AQ5.2, CAQ5, CBQ10.7,
AQ5.5, AQ6.2, AQ5.6)
BACKGROUND
Parents in developed countries are frequently cash rich and time poor
Many parents feel guilty that they do not spend enough time with their children
In industrial societies, adults invest more time in children’s play, and generally aim to help their
child’s educational ability
They are likely to encourage certain kinds of play, including pretend play
There may be some encouragement to do this by commercial interests such as toy manufacturers,
as well as a prevalent play ethos that argues that play is good for a child’s healthy development
and well-being
A report from the Future Foundation (2006) showed that parents spend quadruple the amount of
time looking after their children (an average of 99 minutes per day in 2000) than they did 25 years
ago (an average of 25 minutes per day in 1975)
Much of this is because of parents’ fear of allowing their child to play unsupervised
• Many parents feel that they struggle to find time to play with their
children: Index all-country averages show that almost half (45%) of online parents
surveyed agree that ‘I feel that I don't have enough time to play with my children’ (13%
strongly agreeing, 33% slightly), while the same proportion agree that ‘I often feel guilty
that I'm not spending enough time with my children’ (15% strongly, 31% slightly).
• Particularly ‘time-poor’ countries, where significantly higher than
average proportions of parents agree that they don't have enough time to play
with their children are (in order of strength of agreement) China, Portugal, Hungary,
Russia, Italy, Ireland and France. Significantly ‘time-richer’ countries meanwhile include
Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Finland.
• In these ‘time-poor’ nations, proportions of children online who feel they
would like their mum and dad to organise more things for them outside school are
often significantly above average. This is the case in China, Portugal, Ireland and
France, while children’s attitudes are closer to average in Hungary, Russia and Italy. But in
almost all countries surveyed, there are high levels of correlation between parents’ ‘time
poverty’ or ‘richness’ and proportions of their children wishing to have more organised for
them outside school (compare graphics AQ5.7 and CAQ5 below).
• Similarly, in almost all countries surveyed, children whose parents feel
they do not have enough time to play are significantly more likely than others to
agree that ‘I would like my mum and dad to spend more time playing with me’. China and
Japan present exceptions to this rule.
• However, there is far less correlation between time poverty in particular
countries and proportions of children agreeing that ‘I do not play enough with my family’.
Semantic issues (‘family’ also includes siblings and other relatives) are likely to account for
this though.
7
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

8. International
Summary
AQ5.7: % of parents agre eing 'I fee l that I don't have e nough tim e to play w ith m y childre n.'
100
80 61 57 52 55 61 57
%agreeing 45 46 43 48 51 47 42 47 44 46 45 43 45
60 35 37 34 38 41 40 35
strongly/ 25
slightly 40
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
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nd
Po nd
R al
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Fr d
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CAQ5: % of childre n s aying 'Ye s' to 'Would you lik e your m um and dad to organis e m ore things for you
to do w he n you are not at s chool?'
100
80 52 56
36 37 40 39 39 38
%'Yes' 60 29 29 28 33 25 26 26 28 28 29
40 22 23 21 23 18 23 23
5 10
20
0
Au EX
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C m
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• Strikingly, almost three quarters of online parents in our countries agree
that ‘I would like to have more time to just chill out with my children’, with fully
one third agreeing strongly (36% strongly, 35% slightly).
• Even when parents do find the time to play, a significant minority feel
too distracted by other concerns to enjoy it: one quarter (26%, 5% strongly) agree
that ‘When I play with my children I am often too stressed to enjoy it’. Levels of agreement
here are significantly above average in Russia, China, Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Spain
and Italy.
AQ6.2: % of parents agree ing 'Whe n I play w ith m y childre n I am often too stres s e d to e njoy it.'
100
80
%agreeing
60 40 35 35 39 42 34
strongly/ 26 29 31 23 25 23 32 28 30 29 26
40 20 16 19 18 16 22 18 20 22
slightly 12
20
0
Au DEX
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• More than half of parents surveyed (55%, 17% strongly) agree that ‘I
believe that I do spend enough quality time with my children.’
8
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

9. International
Summary
1.4 SAFETY, CONCERN AND RISK AVERSION (AQ4, EQ2.1, EQ2.2, EQ2.6,
CEQ3.1)
BACKGROUND
It is argued that we live in a risk averse society, and that children’s freedom is being curtailed by an
over protective and anxious view of children’s safety.
Social commentators have pointed out that children today have far less freedom than previous
generations, with fewer children being allowed to play out alone, or even walk to school.
Media coverage may create fear and anxiety amongst parents, although in reality children are no
more likely to be harmed by strangers now than they were 20 or 30 years ago.
While there is understandable concern about risks for children, it is likely that children who are most
at risk are those who are generally vulnerable, and may not have responsible adults around for
them who are looking after their needs.
• In addition to the pressures of time and the difficulties of finding
trustworthy sources of guidance, today’s parents are also increasingly concerned
about protecting their children from unwelcome external factors. All-country Index
data show that, on average across all countries surveyed, ‘stranger danger’, danger from
road traffic, lack of confidence in their own parenting skills and bullying at school all worry
more than a third of online parents.
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - AQ4: 'Pare nts have told us about som e of their conce rns for
their children. Which, if any, of the se concern you m ost as a pare nt?'
100
80
60
49 43
% 38 38
40 25 20
12
20 4
0
That they may That they may Doing the w rong That they may That they may That I may not Other None - I have no
be in danger of be in danger thing in howI am be bullied in not have any be playing with concerns
child predators from road traffic bringing them up school friends them enough
• These concerns, in turn, give rise to worries about over-protection of
children and the effect of such over-protectiveness on children’s’ development,
education and, of course, opportunities to play. Almost half (46%) of parents
interviewed agree that ‘I think as a society we have now become too over-protective to our
children’, while more directly, a similar proportion (47%) agree that ‘I am very concerned
about keeping my children safe and feel I have to be over-protective of them in this world’.
• Levels of concern (as shown by this latter measure) are particularly high
in Portugal, France and Russia and are significantly above average in Belgium, Canada,
China, Hungary, Slovakia and USA – whilst parents in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany,
Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden are relatively less so.
9
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

10. International
Summary
EQ2.2: % of pare nts agree ing 'I am very concerne d about k e e ping m y children s afe and fee l I have to
be ove r-prote ctive of them in this w orld'
100 74 78
68 59
80
50 58 58 54 52 54 50 48 55
%agreeing
60
47 39 39 35 34 41 34 44 50 47
strongly/ 31 25 17
slightly 40 18
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
D ep
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• The direct effects of these safety concerns on children’s play can also be
seen: two in five parents (39%) interviewed in our countries agree that ‘I would
like my children to be able to play out but I am too worried about their safety’:
levels of agreement here are particularly high in Japan, Portugal and Russia and are also
significantly above average in China, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain and UK. Again though,
levels are below average in all Scandinavian countries and in Austria, Netherlands and
Switzerland.
• Nor do the effects of over-protectiveness stop there: two in five children
(40%) interviewed around the world agree that ‘My mum and/or dad worry about
me too much’: however, as might be expected given the findings above, children in
Scandinavia, Netherlands and Switzerland are less likely than others feel this – as, more
unusually (perhaps for cultural reasons), are children in Japan.
EQ2.6: % of pare nts agre e ing 'I w ould lik e m y children to be able to play out
but I am too w orrie d about their safety'
100 77 73 69
80 59 51 60
%agreeing 42 44 41 38 47 44 50
strongly/ 60
39 39 38 37 39
25 26 28 20
40 17 13 19
slightly 9 14
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
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Fr d
ly
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D ep
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CEQ3.1: % of children 7-12 ye ars agre eing 'M y m um and / or dad w orry about m e too m uch'
100
87
80
49 53 57 54 53
40 40 45 45 47 46 48 40
%agreeing 60 30 35 34 38 33 36
23 19 21 21 22 23 27
40
20
0
Au DEX
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C m
Fi rk
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10
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

11. International
Summary
1.5 FAMILY TIME AND MEALS (DQ1.1, DQ1.3, DQ1.6, CDQ2, DQ2, CDQ1,
BQ3.1/.2, CDQ3.1)
BACKGROUND
Eating a meal together as a family is viewed as valuable quality time, and concern has been
expressed about children eating separately from their parents
A report by Oxford University (2009) found that more families are eating together at home in the UK
as a result of the recession
A quarter of parents questioned said that to keep cost down, they are trying hard to ensure that
everyone in the household eats the same meal
Nearly half (48%) of parents said they are eating out less frequently, and 1 in 6 parents claimed
they were spending more time with their family as a result of the downturn
• Given the often significant time pressures acknowledged by many
parents, it is understandable that most see mealtimes as a key opportunity to
spend time with their children: almost all online parents (88%) agree either strongly
(62%) or slightly (26%) that ‘It is important that I/we and our child(ren) eat together as a
family’. Analysis of those agreeing strongly (only) meanwhile shows that parents in (in order
of strength of agreement) Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy and Japan are particularly
keen on this form of family time, whilst parents in Russia, Poland, Finland, UK and Czech
Republic are least so. Mothers are also generally slightly keener than fathers on eating
together.
DQ1.1: % of pare nts strongly agre eing 'It is im portant that I/w e and our child(re n)
e at together as a fam ily'
100
85 80
80 62 58 65 57 62 64 56 59 66 62 71 66 67 67 61 64 63 57 64 65 62
50 49 48 51
%agreeing 60
strongly 40
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
nd
Po nd
R al
Fr d
ze ina
ly
he an
H ny
N ds
D ep
Sl si a
ia
a
Sw a in
K
SA
Au a
Ire y
Be ia
er e
i tz en
ay
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an
ad
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a
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Ita
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ga
la
D
a
n
la
ra
p
R
an
m
st
rtu
w
h
la
U
us
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
N Ja
m
an
nl
IN
IN
Po
ov
C
st
or
en
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G
et
C
• It follows then that relatively very few (18%) parents agree at all that
‘We rarely have time sit down together and eat as a family’, although levels of
endorsement are relatively high in Hungary, Poland, Russia, Austria and China. Not
surprisingly, parents in three of these five nations (Hungary, Russia and China) also feature
in our list of seven most ‘time poor’ countries.
11
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

12. International
Summary
DQ1.3: % of pare nts agre eing 'We rare ly have tim e sit dow n together and eat as a fam ily'
100
80
%agreeing
strongly/ 60
27 35 31 28
40 18 26 22 22 23 24 23 17 20 19 18 21 18
slightly 15 10 13 7 8 6 14 10 15 7
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
nd
Po nd
R al
ze ina
Fr d
ly
he an
D ep
Sl si a
ia
H ny
N ds
K
a
Sw a in
SA
Au a
Ir e y
Be ia
er e
i tz en
ay
nd
an
ad
c
r
a
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li
ak
g
iu
Ita
r
ga
la
D
a
n
la
ra
p
R
an
m
st
rtu
w
h
la
us
U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
N Ja
m
an
nl
IN
IN
Po
ov
C
st
or
en
un
ch
er
G
et
C
• However, preferred location of mealtimes appears to generate some
tension between parents and their children! While only a quarter of parents (26%) in
the All-country Index average agree that ‘My children regularly eat meals sitting in front of
the TV’ (levels are especially high in Japan (51%) and China (44%), where restricted living
spaces particularly in urban environments are likely to be responsible), over half of children
interviewed (57%) agree that ‘It is more fun to eat your main meal of the day watching TV.
• Index average data show that parents estimate on average that they eat
their main meal of the day with their children ‘most days’ (and more often in
Netherlands, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland, USA and Australia) while their children, when
asked exactly the same question, are in close agreement.
• For many parents (Index average 41%), cooking or baking presents an
appealing way of promoting their children’s creativity at home. More than half (53%)
of children interviewed meanwhile agree that they (would) like to spend time baking in the
kitchen with their mum and dad. Children in Australia, Czech Republic, France and UK are
particularly keen to do this.
CDQ3.1: % of children agre eing that 'I w ould lik e to spend tim e bak ing in the kitche n
w ith m y m um or dad'
100
68 59 68 61 59 59 65
80 53 52 49 56 53 54 51 53 58 54 54 53
42 47 45 42 40 42 43 45
% agreeing 60
40
20
0
Au EX
EX
C m
Fi rk
nd
R al
Po nd
ze i na
Fr d
ly
D ep
he an
H any
N ds
Sl si a
ia
a
Sw a in
K
SA
Au ia
ry
Be ia
er e
i tz en
ay
nd
an
ad
c
a
U
ak
g
Ita
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l
r
ga
la
D
D
n
la
ra
N Jap
R
an
m
st
rtu
w
h
la
us
U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
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m
an
nl
IN
IN
Ire
Po
ov
C
st
or
en
un
ch
er
G
et
C
12
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

13. International
Summary
THE STATE OF CHILDHOOD
ATTITUDES TO PLAY (CBQ1a, b, CCQ1, CBQ10.7)
BACKGROUND
Play is good for children
It is the way they work out what is happening in their world, and how they learn to explore and find
out about new things
Playing is great fun, and is a place where imagination and creativity can flourish, and emotions and
feelings can be acted out
For young children, play is often a means of mastering a new skill, perhaps learning to balance, to
walk or run, to open things
Play also given a child a means to work out relationships with peers and with friends
It is argued that children actively seek play opportunities and play partners
• Playing with friends (30% Index average) is the single favourite pastime
of children interviewed around the world, followed – at significantly lower levels –
by playing computer games (15%) - and playing with mum and dad (10%)! Some
interesting national variations present themselves; playing with friends is considerably more
popular in all Scandinavian countries (≥40%) and in Japan (43%). Playing computer games
is particularly popular in Eastern Europe (Czech Rep 21%, Poland and Slovakia 23%, Russia
22%), while playing with mum and dad is more popular in Hungary (24%), Austria (19%)
and France (17%).
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - Children: CBQ1a 'Please choose y our three
favourite things from the list below...' & CBQ1b 'And which one is y our favourite?'
% Top 3 favourite Favourite
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Playing with friends 30 53
Playing computer games 15 38
Watching TV 6 30
Using the internet 6 24
Playing with mum or dad 10 23
Reading books 4 17
Painting and drawing 4 16
Listening to music 3 15
Playing sport for fun 4 15
Playing sport for school / club 6 14
Going to the cinema 2 11
Playing at home 2 11
Playing music 1 6
Others 3 6
Coming up with new games 1 5
Watching sport 13
Reading magazines 13
13
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

14. International
Summary
• As shown in our individual country reports, girls are often more likely
than boys to prefer playing with friends, while boys are often more likely to prefer
playing computer games.
• The time pressures referred to by parents (section 1.3) are likely to at
least partly account for the fact that 1 in 5 children (Index average 21%) across
all countries surveyed agree that ‘I do not play enough with my family’. Family
planning regulations meanwhile may explain the far greater tendency of children in China
(41%) to agree with this – but the reason for Polish children’s high endorsement here
(34%) is less clear.
• Preferences for location and type of play preferred vary considerably
around the world, according to country culture and urban/rural situation: Therefore
large proportions of online children everywhere all agree that ‘I prefer to spend time playing
outside’ (58%, with particularly high levels - ≥69% - in China, Czech Republic, Poland,
Slovakia and USA), ‘I like playing inside the house’ (54%, with ≥64% agreeing in Czech
Republic, France, Spain and Switzerland) and ‘I like to make up my own activities’ (51%,
with ≥61% agreeing in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden and USA).
ATTITUDES TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY (CCQ1.2, CBQ6-9, CAQ4, CBQ10.6)
BACKGROUND
Development psychologists agree that early parental and family relationships have a direct affect on
a child’s peer relationship
There is evidence that children’s social adaptation is highly influenced by friendships
Social competence with peers is related the children’s ability to encode and decode emotional
messages, and this is related to children's emotional understanding
Much of this ‘encoding’ and ‘decoding’ takes place through play
Peer support groups are being encouraged in schools to alleviate problems such as bullying
• Although children clearly prefer playing with friends to playing with their
parents (section 2.1), many still share their parents’ desire to play more together
as a family: on average, two in five (38%) children in our surveyed countries agree that ‘I
would like my mum and dad to spend more time playing with me, with this sentiment being
particularly strong in China (73%) and Russia (49%). However, in other countries where
parents feel especially ‘time-poor’ (Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Ireland and France – section
1.3) results are mixed, with no further clear differences emerging.
• A series of paired choices presented to children confirms their strong
preferences (section 2.1) for playing with friends and family: fully 9 in 10 (89%)
would prefer to play with friends rather than watch TV, while a similar proportion (86%)
would prefer to play with friends rather than use the internet. Three quarters (73%) would
meanwhile prefer to play with their parents than watch TV. Only the choice between the
solitary pursuits of either watching TV (52%) or using the internet (48%) divides opinion
significantly.
14
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

15. International
Summary
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - Childre n: CBQ6 - 9:
'Would you rathe r X or Y this w ee ke nd, if you could only choos e one ?
100 89 86 73
80
52 48
% 60
40 27
11 14
20
0
Watch Us e Watch Play with Play with Us e Watch Play with
TV internet TV friends friends internet TV parents
• Relatively few online children (Index average 16%) across the world feel
that their parents organise too many things for them to do outside school. Only in
China, Portugal, Russia (≥36% - and again, time-poor nations) are levels of agreement
significantly higher.
• Half of children (53%) interviewed around the world agree that ‘I am
very good at making friends’, with this social confidence being especially strong in
Hungary (75%) but less pronounced in Japan and Poland (both 37%) and China and
Belgium (both 43%).
TECHNOLOGY AND TOYS (CBQ1a, b, BQ1.1, CFQ1.7, CBQ10.4, CBQ11,
CBQ12)
BACKGROUND
Research shows that where television and access to digital technology is available, children spend
less time playing
A study in Japan by Takeuchi (1994) showed that time spent playing outside the house by boys was
inversely proportional to the time spent on video games
Dr Barbie Clarke’s research in the UK (Clarke, University of Cambridge, 2009) confirms this
Children living in rural areas, with more freedom and opportunity to play outside, and with less adult
intervention, are less likely to use digital technology
It has been found that media characters have an effect on play in the choice of pretend themes,
especially among boys
• Although children’s preferences for playing and interacting with other
people rather than technology or toys are clearly demonstrated (sections 2.1, 2.2),
the latter still hold considerable appeal to them: playing computer games, watching TV
and using the Internet all feature in the top 5 of their list of favourite pastimes (see section
2.1 graphic) – above the less technical pursuits of reading books, painting and drawing,
listening to music and playing sport.
• Furthermore, given the time pressures and logistical issues involved in
letting their offspring play either with family or friends, it is perhaps
understandable that many online parents in most countries surveyed agree that
their children spend too much time watching TV or playing electronic games: more
than two in five globally (Index average 44%) agree with this, with parents in (in order of
strength of agreement) Russia, Australia, Portugal, China, Ireland, Poland being most likely
to.
• Again, we see a strong correlation here with parental time-poverty; all
these countries bar Australia and Poland feature in our list of ‘time-poor’ nations (section
15
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

16. International
Summary
1.3), whilst almost all the lowest levels of endorsement here occur in identified ‘time-richer’
countries (Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Finland; of all ‘time-richer’
nations, only the Czech Republic does not follow this pattern.)
BQ1.1: % of pare nts agre e ing 'I think m y childre n spend too m uch tim e w atching TV
or playing e le ctronic gam es '
100
80 52 51 60
%agreeing 44 44 50 48 41 48 50 49 45 43 50 48 46 48 44 47 44
60 37 35 31 39 37 33
strongly/ 28
slightly 40
20
0
st X
EX
C m
l
Fi rk
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
H ny
D ep
Sl si a
ia
or s
a
Sw n
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
G nce
Ire y
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
Au DE
an
nd
pa
ai
ad
r
li
a
U
ak
Ita
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r
ga
la
D
a
la
ra
R
hi
m
st
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w
la
U
us
Sp
Sw ed
lg
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Ja
an
nl
m
IN
IN
a
Po
ov
C
en
un
ch
er
R
er
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N
et
C
N
• Very few children around the world see ‘play’ and ‘toys’ as inextricably
linked: only 9% (Index average) agree that ‘When I play I always have to play
with toys’. Only in China (20%) and Russia (18%) do levels of agreement increase
considerably.
• One third of online children (Index average 34%) meanwhile agree that
‘Creating things is more fun than playing a computer game’, with children in Austria
and Switzerland (both 44%) agreeing more strongly than most and children in Hungary
(24%), Japan (22%) and Spain (24%) less likely to do so.
• When prompted, many children claim to see creative benefits in
watching TV and/or playing computer games. A slight majority in all countries
surveyed (56% Index average, but rising considerably in China, Ireland and UK) agree that
watching TV gives them lots of ideas and helps them to be creative, while slightly fewer
(47%, and considerably more so in China, Denmark, Ireland and Spain) agree that playing
games on their computers or games consoles gives them lots of ideas and helps them to be
creative.
ASPIRATIONS (CGQ1)
BACKGROUND
Children do not necessarily aspire to be older, and are usually content with the age they are at
They do however develop fantasies about friendship and identity e.g. a ‘pretend friend’, is
sometimes a feature between ages 3-6
Between 7-10 children develop many interests, and part of the drive to participate in activities is a
wish and a belief that they will be good at something e.g. Playing football professionally, becoming a
pop star, being a celebrity
Children at this age (middle childhood) are enthusiastic and altruistic – they like good causes such
as saving the planet, protecting animals
• Children aged 7-12 years in our 25 countries were also asked, at the end
of their short interview, a single, wide-ranging question that invited them to tell
us in their own words, ‘If you could wish for anything, what would that be?’ %
results for responses are not available, but all verbatim answers are. As might be expected
with such a general question, a great range of subjects was addressed in responses. The
16
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

17. International
Summary
following selection of comments from UK respondents gives an indication of this
breadth:
(Verbatim responses are available for all countries surveyed.)
“To be allowed to play on the games consoles more than I'm allowed to.”
“To be an Olympic swimmer”
“That I didn’t go to school”
“To have Sims 3 and a lot of money”
“A time machine. A library”
“A TV in my room”
“To be a big girl like mummy”
“To be a bike champ”
“(I wish that) we lived in New Zealand - it looks wonderful, beaches are
great”
“To grow up to 16”
“My own laptop”
“Liverpool to win the league”
“To have a future with my friend Christopher”
“A pony”
“To live in the country and have lots of animals”
“To get a good job and be happy and have lots of holidays”
“That my school friends lived closer so that we could meet up and play more,
especially at the park”
“I would wish that me and my mum could spend more time with each other
and go to the park and bake things. I would also like my mum to take me to
places like swimming pools and the zoo and farm. I would wish that we could
all eat together like a proper family (with no TV.) I would like to do art with
my mum and Christmas cards and decorations. (I would like to have some
more takeaways as well.)
“To go to a dance school and to be famous and rich”
“To meet Miley Cirus”
“To play for Man City”
“I’m happy as I am”
17
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

18. International
Summary
“For Pokemon to be real.”
“To be a professional footballer with lots of money”
“To have my nanny back from heaven as she used to play with me alot and
let me do fun things! That's it”
“A brilliant life and loadsa friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“I wish I could go a visit my big sister in America for a long holiday”
18
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

19. International
Summary
PLAY
3.1 MEANINGS OF AND ATTITUDES TO PLAY (FQ1, CFQ1)
BACKGROUND
There are as many theories of play as there are types of play, but generally it is agreed that there
are two purposes, and these are not mutually exclusive:
Long term benefits
Children develop strengths and skills now that will be beneficial in childhood.
For example it is argued that friendship centres on play, which includes sharing and co-operation.
If children have not developed these skills by age 7 or 8, the transition to adolescence becomes
more difficult, and isolation and loneliness can occur
Immediate benefits
Other theorists argue that play is more immediate, so that children learn skills that are immediately
useful
For example, how to communicate, use motor skills, learn social skills
• The word and idea of ‘play’ can represent many things to different
people. Indeed, we chose not to define ‘play’ for either the parents or children interviewed
in our survey, preferring to allow each to interpret the concept as it applies to them and
their lives.
• However, several questions about the nature of and attitudes to ‘play’ do
allow us to understand more about its meaning around the world.
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - FQ1.1 - 1.6 'Please te ll us how m uch you agree or dis agree
w ith e ach of the follow ing state m e nts us ing the s cale provide d'
89
100
65 63
%agreeing 80 59 52 45
strongly/ 60 30 27
slightly 40
20
0
Play is to Play is w hen Play is a Play can Play is to stop Play is best Play alw ays Play should
encourage my child and I rehearsal for include using my child w hen it is involves the alw ays have
my child's lose all sense real life computers or getting bored educational toys that my a purpose
imagination of time games for my child child has
• At an overview Index average level, we can see that play, for most
online parents around the world, is or can be to do with encouraging children’s
imagination and creativity – and should not necessarily always have a purpose nor
necessarily involve toys. Furthermore, for many, play can involve a sense of suspension
of time. It might involve the use of computers or games consoles. Many see it as a
rehearsal for real life, many as a way or preventing boredom – and many appreciate it most
when they feel their child is learning from it.
• In practice though, perceptions of play vary widely around the world. In
particular, there is a polarisation of views about its value when it is educational in nature;
two thirds or more of parents in (in order of strength of agreement) China, Slovakia, Czech
Republic, Spain, Hungary, Russia, Poland and Portugal agree that ‘Play is best when it is
educational for my child’ – whereas one third or fewer in Japan, Norway, Denmark, France,
Sweden, UK, Australia, Belgium, Netherlands and Canada agree.
19
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

20. International
Summary
FQ1.3: % of pare nts agre e ing 'Play is bes t w he n it is e ducational for m y child'
100 81 80
71 67 65 64 66 68
80 55
%agreeing 45 46 48 39 43 45
strongly/ 60 30 30 34 38 28 30 28 36 29
40 24 18 18
slightly
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
D ep
H ny
Sl si a
ia
or s
a
Sw a in
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
er e
Ire y
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
an
nd
pa
ad
c
r
li
a
U
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r
ga
la
D
a
la
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R
hi
an
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st
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la
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U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
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Ja
an
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IN
IN
Po
ov
C
st
en
un
ch
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R
he
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G
et
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N
• Parental attitudes to play and toys also differ considerably in eastern
Europe and China compared to other countries surveyed: more than half of online
parents in Russia, Poland, China, Slovakia and Czech Republic agree that ‘Play always
involves the toys that my child has been given’, compared to an Index average figure of
30%.
• Similar national differences also present themselves regarding whether
play should always have a purpose: almost half or more of parents in Russia, Poland,
China, Slovakia and Czech Republic (as well as Italy) agree that it should, compared to an
Index average of only 27%.
FQ1.2: % of parents agre eing 'Play should alw ays have a purpose '
100
80 62
%agreeing 53 51 44 47 47 53
strongly/ 60
27 28 28 32 36 27
40 22 16 16 20 15 13 19 13 19
slightly 12 5 10 8 10
20
0
st X
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
D ep
H ny
Sl si a
ia
or s
K
a
Sw n
SA
Au a
Ire y
Be ia
G nce
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
Au DE
an
pa
nd
ad
ai
r
li
a
U
ak
Ita
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ga
la
D
a
la
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R
hi
st
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la
us
U
Sp
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Ja
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IN
IN
a
Po
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C
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ch
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N
• There is however far greater agreement around the world about play’s
‘time-suspending’ nature (more than half of parents in every country surveyed agree
that ‘Play is when my child and I lose all sense of time’) and about its role in encouraging
imagination and creativity; more than three quarters of parents in every country agree that
‘Play is to encourage my child’s imagination and creativity’.
• And when considering what play means more directly to them, parents
around the world are also more likely to agree with each other. Four in five (Index
average 83%) agree that ‘I really enjoy playing with my children’, with no fewer than 70%
agreeing with this in any nation. Only one in five globally (Index average 20%) agree that ‘I
need to be persuaded to play with my children’; only in Japan, where a surprisingly high
70% agree with this, do levels exceed three in ten.
• Finally, almost universal agreement exists among parents about the
developmental benefits of play. Almost all (Index average 93%) parents interviewed
agree that ‘I think play is an essential and important part of the way a child develops’, with
no fewer than 87% agreeing in any one country.
20
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International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

21. International
Summary
• Children’s views of the meaning of play do not differ greatly from their
parents’, although they understandably place more emphasis on its role in
diverting and stimulating them, rather than aiding education and development:
most (Index average 65%) agree that play stops them from getting bored and (61%) that
they do not think about time when playing. Many feel that computers might (or might not)
be involved (53%) and that it helps them have lots of ideas and to be creative (49%), while
sizeable minorities feel that it helps them to learn about the world (39%) and can teach
them things that are helpful at school (39%). Very few (9%) agree that play always
involves toys.
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - CFQ1 (Childre n) 'Which of thes e do you agre e w ith?'
100
80 65 63 53
60 48 42 39 39
%agreeing
40 23
9
20
0
Playing I don’t think I think I can I don’t I think I can I think I learn I think I prefer to When I play
stops me about w hat play w hen w orry play w hen things that playing play games I alw ays
from getting time it is I’m using the about things I’m using my help me at helps me to w ith no have to play
bored w hen I’m computer w hen I’m games school learn about rules w ith toys
playing playing console w hen I play the w orld
• Children in Denmark, Japan and Netherlands are meanwhile less
receptive than most to the idea of play helping them to learn, while those in the USA
appear more appreciative of its role in diverting and entertaining them.
PLAY AND TIME (AQ3a-b, AQ9)
BACKGROUND
Play can be fun for adults, but it can also be a means of distracting children, in order to keep them
occupied
There are 3 views of play:
‘Free play’ - completely unstructured
‘Structured play’ – steered towards certain activities, in the belief it will bring educational benefits
‘Direct instruction’ – prescribed – involving cognitive and literacy skills with a neglect of play
opportunities
It could be argued that through structuring play, children move away from a true sense of play, and
parents could be seen to be manipulating children for their own ends
On the other hand, children do benefit from this, and it can be a learning experience
A middle way is probably best – ie ‘structured’ with some educational benefits
• Almost all children aged 0-12 in the countries surveyed spend most of
their time outside school with one or both of their parents (Index average 90%).
Only in China (74% with parent(s), 24% with grandparents/in-laws) Norway (81% with
parent(s), 10% with child’s friends) and Portugal (83% with parent(s), 11% with
grandparents/in-laws) does this pattern alter significantly.
• In terms of their children’s play time, parents around the world are still
most likely to spend most of this with their children (Index 68%), but their
children’s friends (20%) assume a greater role here. This is particularly the case in
21
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

22. International
Summary
Scandinavian countries (Finland 37% with children’s friends, Sweden 30%, Norway 29%
Denmark 28%)
and in Netherlands (39%) and Germany (30%) – and less so in Australia, Belgium, China,
France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Slovakia (all <14% with children’s friends).
ALL-COUNTRY INDEX AVERAGES - Parents: AQ3a 'Who spends most time with your child
outside of school?' & AQ3b 'Who spends most time playing with your child outside of
school?'
Most time Most time playing
100
80 58
%
60 44
32 24
40 20
20 4 4 2 2 4 1 3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
0
Me My My My child’s Someone Other My My au pair My friends
partner parents / friends else relative neighbour / nanny
parent-in-
law
• The average online parent in the countries surveyed plays with their
child(ren) for 2 hours per day (Index 14.3 hours per week). However,
considerable variations exist at national level: parents in Australia, China, Czech
Republic, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and USA all claim to play with their children for more
than 15.5 hours per week, whilst those in Belgium, Denmark, France, Japan and
Netherlands do so for 13 hours or less every week.
• In most countries, average time spent playing with children is higher
among mothers than fathers (see country reports for further detail).
AQ9: (pare nts ) 'On ave rage, for how m uch tim e do you personally play w ith your child(re n) on a
typical w ee kday/w ee k e nd day?' (re sults gros se d up to 'TYPICAL WEEK')
50
40
hours per 20 16.6
30
14.3 15.5 14.4 11.5 14.4 14.9 14.9 15.6 15.4 10.9 13 13.3 17.6 14.7 13.8 16.4 13.4 12.8 13.3 14 16.8 14.3
week 20 10.5 12.5 12.3
10
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
R al
nd
Po nd
ze ina
Fr d
ly
D ep
n
un y
or s
Sl si a
ia
Sw a in
a
K
SA
Au a
Ire y
Be ia
er e
ay
i tz en
nd
an
nd
an
pa
ad
c
r
a
li
g
U
ak
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
la
ra
R
an
m
st
rtu
w
h
la
us
U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
N Ja
m
an
nl
IN
IN
Po
ov
C
st
en
ch
er
he
N
H
G
et
C
22
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

23. International
Summary
PLAY, EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT (CQ1.6, CQ1.7, CQ1.2, CQ1.5,
BQ1.6, CQ1.5, CCQ1)
BACKGROUND
All forms of play could be regarded as educational
Children learn rapidly, and they learn from the important adults in their lives
Vygotsky (1978) argued that play materials help children separate themselves from concrete reality
and make a distinction between actual objects, and what they are intended to represent (Hughes
2010)
While it is true that infants with access to a wide variety of play materials score higher on some
intellectual measures, it is not proven that it is the play materials that create the higher
measurements
Psychologists believe that playing with different play materials helps children to become more
creative e.g. Fantasy play
• We have already seen (section 3.1) the perceived importance – among
both online parents and children themselves - of play to children’s development.
Play is almost universally seen as having a key role in encouraging imagination and
creativity and – especially in Eastern and Southern Europe and China – is sometimes valued
most by parents when it is educational in nature. But how else can play affect education and
development?
• Firstly, we can recognise – as most parents do – that care should be
taken when combining play and education: there is already considerable concern
among parents interviewed that ‘children are put under too much pressure at school these
days’ (Index average 54% agreeing), especially in China, Germany, Hungary, Poland,
Russia, Slovakia, UK and USA. It is heartening then that four in five parents around the
world (Index average 80%, strongly agree average 36%) agree that ‘children can learn
more if they are encouraged to relax and have a playful outlook’. Agreement here is
particularly strong in China, Hungary, Italy and Portugal.
CQ1.7: % of pare nts s trongly agree ing 'I think childre n can learn m ore if the y are e ncourage d
to re lax and have a playful outlook'
100
66 62 59
80
41 49 42 40 42
%agreeing 60 36 39 36 32 33 32 31 39 36 31 36 36
20 28 27 23 28
strongly 40 18 17
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
D ep
H ny
ov a
ia
or s
a
Sw a in
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
er e
Ire y
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
an
nd
pa
ad
si
c
r
li
a
U
ak
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
a
la
ra
R
hi
an
m
st
rtu
w
la
us
U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
N Ja
an
nl
m
IN
IN
Po
C
st
en
un
ch
er
R
he
N
Sl
G
et
C
• Similarly encouraging is the fact that a large majority of parents (Index
average 78%) in countries surveyed agree that ‘children should be allowed to play
without it always having to be educational’, (parents in Australia, Finland, Ireland,
Sweden and UK agree particularly strongly here), whilst only very few parents (Index 17%)
agree that ‘I would prefer my child to learn things rather than play’ (China, Italy, Russia and
USA exceed average levels here).
23
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

24. International
Summary
• Furthermore, remembering that almost all parents agree that ’play is to
encourage my child’s imagination and creativity’ (section 3.1), nearly three quarters
(Index 71%) of parents responding around the world agree that ‘As a parent I feel I should
encourage more creativity in the home’. What better way to do this than to play more with
our children?
BQ1.6: % of pare nts agree ing 'As a pare nt I fe el I s hould e ncourage m ore cre ativity in the hom e .'
89 91
100 71 74
85
72 73 82 75 79 80 87 73 65 68 66 74 80 71
67 65 69
%agreeing
80 58 49 54 48 60
strongly/ 60
slightly 40
20
0
st X
EX
C m
l
Fi rk
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
H ny
D ep
Sl si a
ia
or s
a
Sw n
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
G nce
Ire y
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
Au DE
an
nd
pa
ai
ad
r
li
a
ak
U
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
a
la
ra
R
hi
m
st
rtu
w
la
U
us
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
Ja
an
nl
m
IN
IN
a
Po
ov
C
en
un
ch
er
R
er
he
N
et
C
N
• We leave the last word here to children: half (Index 51%) surveyed
around the world agree that ‘I would prefer to play than learn’, with children in
Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Russia
and Slovakia all agreeing with this significantly more strongly than average. However,
children in Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal and Sweden all claim lower
than average levels of agreement here.
CCQ1.1: % of childre n 7-12 ye ars agree ing 'I w ould pre fer to play than learn'
100 83
66 68 69 63 71 64 65 62 70
80 51 57 51
48 43 43 40 46 39 44 46 44
%agreeing 60 33 38 36
40 23 26
20
0
st X
EX
C m
Fi rk
l
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
D ep
n
H ny
Sl si a
ia
or s
a
Sw n
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
G nce
Ire y
ga
ay
itz en
nd
Au DE
an
nd
pa
ai
ad
r
li
a
ak
U
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
a
ra
la
R
hi
m
rtu
st
w
la
us
U
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
Ja
an
nl
m
IN
IN
a
Po
ov
C
en
un
ch
er
R
er
he
N
et
C
N
3.4 PLAY, TECHNOLOGY AND TOYS (BQ2, BQ1.1, BQ1.5, BQ1.3, CQ1.1)
BACKGROUND
Technology can be a form of play for children e.g. Websites that use the imagination, numeracy and literacy skills
Websites such a Club Penguin can prompt pretend or fantasy play with the adoption of an avatar
Concern has always been expressed about new technology, and some parents are challenged by digital technology
– they do not understand it
We would advise parents that they should be closely involved with their child’s engagement with digital technology,
and that they teach them to stay safe on-line. There are many websites that can advise on this
Digital technology can be seen as a bridge to learning and communication
24
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information

25. International
Summary
• Having established that parents and children rarely see toys as essential
to the experience of play but that play can involve the use of computers or games
consoles (sections 2.3, 3.1), we examine here the broader role of technology and
educational toys in play and children’s development. Parental opinion on these subjects is
often divided.
• On average in all countries surveyed, online parents estimate that their
child(ren) each spends 12.3 hours in a typical week watching TV and using games
consoles and other electronic devices – slightly less time than they spend playing with
their parents in the same period (Index average 14.3 hours)
BQ2: (parents) 'On average , for how m uch tim e does (e ach of) your child(re n) s pend w atching TV and
us ing gam e s cons oles and othe r ele ctronic e quipm e nt on a typical w e ek day/w e ek e nd day?'
50
40
hours per 30
week 20
12.3 14.4 10.2 11.5 14.2 13.6 11.0 11.8 10.0 13.8 9.7 11.9 15.1 12.7 14.7 11.7 11.7 12.5 11.6 12.1 11.9 11.6 12.1 8.3 13.9 16.9 12.3
10
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
l
Fi rk
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
un y
D ep
ov a
ia
or s
a
Sw n
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
er e
Ire y
ga
ay
i tz en
nd
an
an
nd
pa
ai
ad
si
c
r
li
a
U
ak
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
la
ra
R
hi
an
m
st
rtu
w
la
us
U
Sp
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lg
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N Ja
m
an
nl
IN
IN
Po
C
st
en
ch
er
R
he
N
Sl
H
G
et
C
• Almost half of parents online in countries surveyed express concern with
this degree of exposure to electronic media: 44% (Index average) agree that ‘my
children spend too much time watching TV or playing electronic games’ (levels are highest
in Australia, China, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Russia), while 43% agree that ‘I feel my
children rely on digital entertainment too much and should create more of their own play’
(highest in China, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Russia and Slovakia).
• However, a similar proportion (Index 40%) agree that - at least to some
extent - ‘I am happy for my children to be entertained by digital technology at
home’, with parents in Austria, China, Denmark, France, Russia, Spain and Sweden
apparently most relaxed about this.
• Views on the use of educational toys are highly polarised: while an all-
country average of 47% of parents agree that ‘I like my children to play with educational
toys like Baby Einstein and electronic dictionaries’, only 1 in 5 or fewer parents in Denmark,
Japan and Netherlands are in favour of such aids (with parents in Australia, Belgium,
Germany, Hungary, Sweden and Switzerland also less so than most). However, three in five
or more parents in China, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Poland, Slovakia and USA declare
themselves in favour.
CQ1.1: % of pare nts agre eing 'I lik e m y childre n to play w ith e ducational toys
lik e Baby Einste in and e le ctronic dictionaries e tc. '
100
70 66 66 61 61 68 66 64
80
47 48 55 56 49 48 47
%agreeing
38 42 45 39 37 38 41
strongly/ 60 34 36
slightly 40 15 14 20
20
0
Au DEX
EX
C m
Fi rk
R al
nd
Po nd
ze na
Fr d
ly
n
H ny
D ep
Sl si a
ia
s
a
Sw a in
K
SA
Au a
Be ia
er e
Ire y
ay
i tz en
nd
an
nd
pa
ad
c
r
li
a
U
ak
g
Ita
iu
r
ga
la
D
a
la
ra
R
hi
an
m
st
r tu
w
la
U
us
Sp
Sw ed
lg
rl a
N Ja
an
nl
m
IN
IN
Po
ov
C
st
or
en
un
ch
er
he
N
G
et
C
• Parents aged 18-34 years are significantly more likely to be positive
towards educational toys than their counterparts aged 35-54, with an Index average
of 53% agreeing ‘I like my children to play…’ compared to an average of 43% of parents of
35-54 years.
25
Source – Family Kids and Youth/Research Now Oct-Nov 2009
International summary report December 2009
See Technical Notes for more information