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Survey - parents feeling guilty about ditching children's artwork

Posted by Heather O'Neil on June 21, 2012 0 Comments

 Here's the press release from Lec, a refrigerator manufacturer in the UK, about their survey and fridge art contest.

Embargoed to 00:01 Monday 9^th April 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Two Thirds of Parents Feel Guilt Over Ditching Kid’s Art

Parents feel the pressure as kids average 48 pieces of art per year; quarter of mums and dads admit the novelty has ‘worn off’

 

Parents are racked with guilt about ditching their children’s art work, a new survey has revealed, with the majority of mums and dads feeling under pressure to keep their children’s creations on display at home.

The survey of 1,000 parents by leading refrigeration manufacturer, Lec, revealed that almost two thirds (63%) of parents feel guilty about taking pictures down prematurely, with 90% of those questioned keeping the majority of their children’s creations rather than throwing them away.

Despite this, a quarter of parents admit that the novelty of their children bringing pictures and paintings home from school or nursery has worn off. Whilst, 2% of those questioned refuse to put anything up because it doesn’t match their interior design.

According to the findings, on average children bring 48 pieces of art home from nursery or school per year, meaning the typical family home (1.7 children) could house more than 800 pieces of art by the time children leave primary school.

The fridge is still the most common place for pictures to be displayed, with 70% of people choosing to showcase artwork in the kitchen, followed by children’s bedrooms (11%) and the living room (7%). Each piece stays up on average for four months, while one in ten parents never take anything down.

With so much creativity amongst the nation’s children, Lec has launched a national campaign to celebrate the UK’s ‘fridge art’.

Parents can upload their children’s creations to a special Flickr group (www.flickr.com/groups/lecfridgeart) for the chance to win a limited edition fridge featuring their children’s artwork which will also be displayed in a museum exhibition. 

Open to children up to the age of ten, artwork can be submitted via Flickr, email or post. Visit www.lec.co.uk/fridgeart for entry details and terms and conditions. The competition closes on 1^st June 2012. Shortlisted entries will be put forward to a Facebook vote to choose one boy and one girl winner in each age category (two and under, 3-5 years, 6-8 years and 9-10 years).

Jane Rylands, Communications Manager for Lec, said: “It is fantastic that our kids are so creative but with the volume of pictures and paintings being created it is no wonder that parents are starting to tear their hair out when it comes to putting it all on display.

“The fridge has always been the most popular place to showcase children’s artwork which is why we decided to delve into this pastime a little deeper.

“Whilst all parents are proud of everything that their children create, we were surprised that there was such strength of feeling around keeping artwork on permanent display.

“In response to the findings we decided to celebrate the nation’s fridge art with a national competition to showcase the UK’s favourite pictures in a museum. Not only will the winners have the kudos of having their picture on display, they will also win a one-of-a-kind fridge featuring their art.

“The Flickr channel is also a great way for parents to store their children’s images for years to come.”

ENDS

For more information about Lec and for stockists visit www.lec.co.uk or call 0844 81 53 737.

Follow Lec on Twitter @lec_fridges or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lecrefrigeration 

For media enquiries contact Ali or Louise at Umpf on 0800 4 10 20 10 or email ali@umpf.co.uk / louise@umpf.co.uk

Competition entry information:       

To upload an entry via Flickr you must first have a Flickr account. Upload your entries to your own Flickr feed and the join the Lec Fridge Art competition group and add your pictures to the group. Join the group by visiting http://www.flickr.com/groups/lecfridgeart/. Categories include two and under, 3-5 years, 6-8 years and 9-10 years. Please include whether your child is a boy or a girl, your county and their age in the image description.

Entries can also be emailed to ali@umpf.co.uk or posted to Lec Fridge Art Competition, Umpf, 46 The Calls, Leeds. LS2 7EY (please include a stamped addressed envelope if you would like your work to be returned as well as your contact details). A Facebook vote will decide the final winner in each category and all submissions will also be showcased on the Lec website.