Engaging Canadian Families Presentation to Environment Canada November 23rd, 2005

1. Engaging Canadian Families Presentation to Environment Canada November 23rd, 2005

2. Where we left off…

3. The North American Generational Landscape Net Nexus Boomer Pre-Boomer

4. Today’s Outline • A Picture of Today’s Family • The Generational Family • The Environmental Family • Taking Action - Engaging the Canadian Family

5. Sitcom Families Through the Ages 80s 70s Today

6. Forces affecting Families More Divorce Less Childbearing More Cohabiting Later Marriage

7. Forces affecting families

8. Today’s Family • 1.5 Children per woman • 35% of all marriages are remarriages. 2/3rds of divorcees will marry or cohabit again. • 70% are dual-earner families

9. Today’s Kids • KAGOY • Kids Are Growing Older Younger – pressured by parents, media to excel at sports, school, extra curricular, summer camp • Hitting puberty earlier • Highly structured lives even out of school • Kidfluence: “12-14-year-olds want to be 18. 15-19 year-olds want to be 20. • Absence of 2nd adult in 22% of households means decision making shifts towards the kids. – is this growing or declining? • KASYO • kids are staying younger older?

10. The Family by Generation

11. Boomers vs Nexus Parents • “Boomers and their progeny reject the ‘don’t waste’ mentality of their parents. They spend, not save; indulge, not sacrifice. They are the ‘more’ generation” (Kidfluence) • Poverty in families with parents aged 25-34 has risen from 12 per cent in 1981 (boomers) to 18.9 per cent in 1997 (nexus)” • 1970 - 47% of Boomers aged 18-24 lived with their parents • 1992, 54% of Gen Xers did • 2005, what % of the Net Generation do?

12. Nexus Parents - Some Theories • Kids stay at home longer, boundaries between generations are blurred • Nexus family’s parents are repositioned as friends rather than just a mother-daughter relationship. • Are they skipping the Independence lifestage? • Are families becoming more democratic? • Are families becoming more environmentally sensitive and following up with changing behavior.

13. The D-Code Family Study

14. The D-Code Family Study - Background • A study of 1500 Canadian parents with children under 18 living at home • Evenly split on generational lines • Sub- segment of environmentally/socially conscious consumers and rejectors

15. Canadian Family - General Insights

16. Family composition – Marital Status n=1519

17. Family composition – Education Level n=1519

18. Family Income by Generation n=1519 “What is your annual household income?”

19. Family Income type by generation n=1519 “How many parents work in your family?”

20. Family Structure – do you have children who are… “Do you have children who are…” n=1519

21. Age when first child was born “How old were you when your first child was born?” n=1519

22. While the media might like us to believe differently, families do strive towards work/life balance. Although they feel that they may not always get there…..

23. “Family time” is highly valued during the week and plays a very large role in a typical day. Average Number of Hours Spent - Weekday Net Family Time includes: Family Time, Leisure Time / Entertainment with the Family • Nexus and Boomer parents are similar in their daily family time allotment. • Families with younger children (under 6) spend the most hours per day involved in family time. As age increases, so too does “entertainment” and “leisure time” with the family. • Clearly, parents are squeezed for time on a day to day basis. n=1519 “How many hours do you, yourself, spend on a typical weekday…”

24. Family time takes precedence on the weekend Average Number of Hours Spent – Weekend Day Net Family Time includes: Family Time, Leisure Time / Entertainment with the Family Nexus families are able to maintain a good work/life balance with regards to family time on the weekends. Driven heavily by Nexus families and those with children under 6. n=1519 “ How many hours do you, yourself, spend on a typical weekend day?”

25. Consistent for Nexus and Boomer families The family time crunch Top 2 Box Score - Agree Highest amongst parents of 6-12 year olds I spend more quality time with my kids than my parents did with me We don’t have enough downtime as a family I believe that we have created a closer and more open family than I had growing up I feel guilty that I don’t spend enough time with my children “To what extent do you agree with the following statements on a scale from 1 to 5” n=1519

26. Family time has to be scheduled and planned in advance… personal time is compromised. Top 2 Box Score - Agree I have enough leisure time We have enough leisure time as a family I sacrifice personal time to get leisure time with my family I am able to successfully spend time with my partner/spouse away from our kids I find that life is so busy that leisure time has to be scheduled and planned in advance “Please rate the following statements in terms of your agreement with them on a scale of 1 to 5” n=1519

27. In comparison to Boomer families, Nexus families have less disposable income and cannot shop as freely.

28. The Main Decision Makers Males Females Food - Grocery Higher in Nexus families Food – Restaurant Selection Entertainment - Family Higher in Nexus families Main Vacation Planning Equal Influencer “For each of the following categories, please indicate whether you are the main decision maker, you have an equal part in the decision, you influence the decision or you are not involved.” n=1519

29. Men have the highest decision making power for……. Males Females Purchasing Financial Services Purchasing a Family Vehicle Main Equal Influencer “For each of the following categories, please indicate whether you are the main decision maker, you have an equal part in the decision, you influence the decision or you are not involved.” n=1519

30. Eating out has not replaced family dinners in Nexus families.

31. The kids extra-curricular mix • Sports activities, either team or individual, are the most common extra curricular activities for kids. • 71% of parents encourage their kids to participate in sports (highest amongst parents with kids 6-12 years). n=1519 “ In which of the following extra curricular activities do your kids participate, if any?”

32. The technology profile of Canadian families Technologies Personally Owned/In Home n=1519 “ Which of the following technologies do you personally own/have in your home?”

33. Children(males) are heavy independent users of technology. Parents are more concerned with internet content than what’s on television. Technologies Children Own/Use Separately from the Family • 37% of parents say that they set limits on the amount of time their children stay indoors (driven by Nexus and parents with 6-12 year olds). • 32% set strict guidelines on their children’s TV usage (driven by Nexus and parents of younger children), while 54% set strict guidelines on Internet usage (again driven by Nexus and parents of younger children). n=1519 “ Which of the following technologies do your children own or use separately from the family?”

34. The Environmental Family

35. The Environmental Family • We asked four questions concerning purchase and awareness of environmentally/socially responsible products • The most telling question was about whether the responded agrees or disagrees with the statement:“I purchase environmentally and socially responsible products.” • This question allowed us to segment the population of families into two divergent groups: • Eco-friendly • Unconcerned

36. Social Responsibility by Age of Respondent Percentage of respondents who agree with the statement “I will spend more for environmentally and socially responsible products n=1519

37. Families with more children are less likely to spend more for environmentally friendly products Number of children n=1519 “How many children do you have”

38. Environmentally responsible respondents work fewer hours than those who are not environmentally responsible Number of hours worked “How many hours do you work on a typical weekday?” n=1519

39. Environmentally responsible people spend more time eating at home, commuting, volunteering Number of hours n=1519 “How many hours do you spend on a typical weekday…”

40. Environmentally responsible respondents spend less time with their families on weekends, but more time on physical activities and commuting Number of hours n=1519 “How many hours do you spend on a typical weekend day…”

41. Environmentally responsible people are more active in the community n=1519 “Which of the following activities do you participate in?”

42. Environmentally responsible parents have more active kids n=1519 “Which of the following activities do your children participate in?”

43. Environmentally responsible people are more strict with their children n=1519 “Do you agree with the following statements”

44. ‘Me time’ n=1519 “Do you agree with the following statements”

45. Perceptions of family success n=1519 “Do you agree with the following statements”

46. Environmentally responsible families are more likely to introduce financial responsibility to their children early on n=1519 “Do you agree with the following statements”

47. Environmentally responsible parents are more likely to be influenced by their children on purchasing decisions n=1519 “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much influence do your kids have when purchasing”

48. Environmentally responsible parents are more likely to be influenced by their children when planning leisure time n=1519 “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much influence do your kids have when deciding to go to…”

49. Environmentally responsible parents are more likely to trust nutritional advice from other people n=1519 “How much do you trust the following sources of nutritional information”

50. Environmentally responsible parents are more likely to trust nutritional advice from other people n=1519 “How much do you trust the following sources of nutritional information”