Spiderman and Tinkerbell are more popular among South Africa’s children than President Jacob Zuma and Lady Gaga. Real-life famous figures take second place to fictional heroes, according to the results of the Parent24 Kid’s Nation Survey. The parenting website conducted SA’s first Kids’ Nation Survey in order to determine what our children are really up to. The survey results reflect the views of approximately 2 700 parents and their kids, from all nine provinces.
The Parent24 Kids Nation Survey looked at various areas of interest, including Food, Entertainment, the Future, Discipline, School/Care, Money and Elections. Questions such as “Does or has your child ever had an imaginary friend?”, “How often does your child throw tantrums?” and “What word does your child use if they swear?” were asked to dig deep into the psyche of our children.
“We decided to run the annual Kid’s Nation Survey to establish what parents and their children have are really behaving”, says Scott Dunlop, editor of Parent24. “We found the results of the survey intriguing”, he adds, “The diverse responses allowed us into the homes of SA’s parents and revealed some interesting, funny and curious insights.”
- It turns out that broccoli is South Africa’s most hated vegetable and that 62% of kids eat takeaways up to three times a week.
- 23% of South African kids have their own cellphone or tablet.
- Most parents (97%) think that their children will attend a tertiary institution
- Most parents (41%) feel that reasoning is the best discipline, while a whopping 30% opt for a smack on the bum.
- A staggering 78% of parents do not think that South African government schools are on par internationally.
- The Parent24 survey found that most kids (75%) help with chores around the house.
