Hot topics: family chats - parent-children discussions

American Demographics,  Feb, 1998  by Matthew Klein

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Parents say they are talking with their kids more often these days, but they also find it more difficult to do so. Roper Starch Worldwide surveyed parents with children aged 8 to 17 living at home in 1992 and 1997 about the frequency and comfort levels of discussions about sex, clothes, and a host of other sticky issues.

How the kids spend their money has become an increasingly frequent--and difficult-topic of conversation. Parents today are 8 percentage points more likely to say they speak to their children about spending pretty often, at 56 percent. But mom and dad are also 9 percentage points less likely to say they can talk easily about it, at 76 percent.

Likewise, children's personal problems are 7 percentage points more likely to come up frequently now than five years ago. These same problems are 7 percentage points less likely to be a subject parents feel comfortable talking about.

The subject that has increased the most in frequency since 1992 is how kids dress; parents are 11 percentage points more likely to say they talk with their children about their clothes. However, apparel discussions are 6 points less likely to he happy talks. The issue that has dropped the most as a source of easy conversation, 10 percentage points, is how the children spend their free time.

For more information, contact Roper Starch Worldwide, 205 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 599-0700.

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