Reader's Digest poll finds Indian parents A-grade

Company Release, August 30

NEW DELHI

An overwhelming majority of urban, middle class Indian teenagers are very happy with their parents, according to a recent poll published in the September 2005 edition of Reader's Digest. It's a myth that teenagers are unhappy and rebellious, the poll found, with 73 percent of teenagers giving their parents an excellent rating.

In this unique poll, a sort of "report card" that teenagers gave their parents, a carefully selected sample of 606 adolescents ranging from 13 to 18 in six cities were asked to rate their parents on 41 qualities ranging from "Understands me" to "Gives advice on sex." A.C. Nielsen-ORG MARG conducted the poll for Reader's Digest in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Nagpur, Lucknow and Kolkata.

The teenagers gave their parents the most marks for attributes such as "honesty," "providing a safe and happy home," "working hard" and "teaching their children values to live by." And mums and dads did least well in characteristics as "giving advice on sex," "fashion knowledge," "not permitting friends of the opposite sex," and "not taking them out on holidays."

Another important against-the-grain finding, according to the poll, is that in middle class India, both mother and fathers are equally involved in the lives of their adolescents, and raising children is seen as a joint responsibility. This is in sharp contrast to both what used to happen a few decades ago in India and what now is the case in much of the Western world.

Girls and boys also differed from each other in their assessment of their parents. Girls, for instance, felt their fathers were better listeners and made more of an effort on their birthdays, whereas boys rated their mothers higher in these areas. There were also differences between cities. Lucknow teens were happiest with their parents and Kolkata teens the least satisfied.

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