Survey reveals families missing out on time outside together
• Parents three times more likely to watch TV than play sport with their children
• Almost half (46%) of parents haven’t played outside with their child in two weeks, with one in five (20%) not having done so in over two months
• More than a third (31%) of children have never washed a car
UK parents are nearly three times more likely to watch TV (46%) than play a game of sport (16%) with their child at the weekend, that’s the key finding of a survey by leading car care provider Armor All. Gardening is the least popular activity a parent would choose to do with their children, with just under 12% doing the weeding together.
The survey of over 2,000 people also found that nearly half (42%) of parents haven’t spent time playing with their child outside in the past two weeks, with 20% not having done so in over two months and 8% in over six months.
In light of these results, Armor All is calling for the return of the family car wash as a great way of getting everybody outside at home and enjoying time together. Once a regular family pastime, the survey revealed that more than a third (31%) of children today had never washed a car in their lives.
With just 22% of respondents to the survey claiming that they normally take their car to a professional car cleaning service and 12% stating they don’t wash their car at all, switching to car washing at home with the children could make a difference to family life.
Paul Hough, Sales and Marketing Controller at Armor All, said: “We know that today’s parents are busier than ever, and finding time to complete all your chores and spend time outdoors with your children is extremely tough.
“Our survey showed that 29% of parents said they don’t think they spend enough time with their children and 39% expressed that they could do more. This is why we think that combining both chores and outdoor activities by reinstating the family car wash could be the answer to getting us all spending more quality time together.
“20% of those that we spoke to said they had fond memories of doing such an activity with their parents when they were younger, so what better way to help create lasting memories with our own children than helping to bring this retro ritual back.”