The main dangers children are currently exposed to, according to Romanians: excessive screens use (59%), online exposure (52%) and violence in the media (43%), according to the second part of the latest Reveal Marketing Research study, which focused on assessing the situation of children in Romania.
The same survey revealed that 63% of Romanian parents are willing to pay extra to support their children in accessing different areas of interest, while 6 out of 10 Romanians say they intervene when they observe violent behaviour of adults on children around them.
According to Reveal Marketing Research study, Romanians believe that the main dangers to which children are exposed are caused by the fact that their lives are increasingly moving online. Therefore, issues related to the use of technology, such as excessive screens use – TV, phone, tablet, etc. (59%), online exposure (52%) or media violence (43%) are followed by physical safety – accidents, injuries, etc. (40%).
Looking at parents’ attitudes, we notice that in preadolescence (6-12 years) and adolescence (13-18 years) the risk of falling prey to addiction to the virtual environment and screens is significantly higher, while physical safety is significantly higher for children under 5 years old.
In terms of the main measures to protect children from these dangers, we find conversations and education about online safety (46%), limiting time spent online (46%), spending time outdoors (45%), constant supervision (37%) or checking and setting content filters (32%).
Looking at parenting behaviours, for children under 5 years old constant supervision is more common (56% vs. 46% total sample), in the case of children between 4-12 years old, there are more clearly established limits of the time spent on internet (63% vs. 46% total sample), while in the case of teenagers between 13-18 years old, discussions and education about online safety are more important (57% vs. 46% total sample).
It is clear that one of children’s daily activities is spending time online, with 49% of children spending on average between 1-3 hours a day using the internet, significantly less in case of children under 3 years old (32%). Time spent online increases with age, with more than a third of teenagers (13-18 years) using the internet for more than 3 hours a day (37% vs. 26% total sample).
The main activities that children have in the virtual environment are watching videos and media content (56%), especially teenagers between 13-15 years old (72%), surfing the Internet and searching for information (52%), rather in case of children from urban areas (54% vs. 45% rural areas), online games (49%), preferred mainly by primary and secondary school children aged 6-15 years (63%), socializing online with friends (48%), especially for teenagers between 13-18 years old (63%) or accessing different online learning platforms (29%), mainly by teenagers between 16-18 years old (38%).
63% of Romanian parents are willing to pay extra to support their children in accessing different areas of interest
Turning our attention to the state of the Romanian education system, we find that a third of Romanians (28%) believe that traditional education prepares a child for life to a small or very small extent.
Thus, 63% of parents say they are willing to a large and very large extent to pay extra to give their children the opportunity to study their areas of interest, a percentage decreasing by 13% compared to the similar study conducted in March 2021. Given the current socio-economic context, a potential reason for this decreasing percentage may be the increasing financial difficulties Romanians are facing lately.
In the same vein, 7 out of 10 parents believe that a child should choose his own areas of interest. So, the main criteria considered by parents when choosing their children’s extracurricular activities are the development of the child’s skills and talents (71%), the child’s interests and passions (52%), the availability of the activity in proximity (30%) and the costs associated with the activities (17%).
Regarding the domains perceived by Romanians as being of interest to children, we find mainly health-related activities or domains perceived in society as stable/pragmatic, the data showing a lower interest in artistic activities. The most popular activities mentioned are individual sports (51%), personal development activities such as public speaking or learning good manners (48%), foreign languages (44%), IT activities (43%), team sports or different types of art such as theater, painting, etc. (34%).
If we refer to the monthly budget that Romanians would be willing to allocate for activities aligned to their children’s interests, most mention an amount between 300-500 lei (30%), to a significantly higher extent parents with children between 13-16 years (38%) or between 100-300 lei (21%), especially for parents with children up to 5 years old (30%).
As a general trend, we notice that with age the budget allocated to extracurricular activities is increasing, so that most of the parents of teenagers between 16-18 years old mention a budget between 500-700 lei (26% vs. 15% total sample).
The study also analyzed perceptions about violence against children by measuring respondents’ agreement with different Romanian proverbs. Compared to the results of the similar survey conducted in 2017, we observe the maintenance of the trend and the positive evolution of the mentality of Romanians regarding non-violent parenting, low values of agreement being recorded by traditional proverbs such as “I made you, I kill you” (9%),” “Beating is broken from Heaven!” (13%) or “Where mother hits, it will grow” (17%), with a slightly high incidence among parents of children under 5 years (21%).
On the other hand, most Romanians agree with the proverb “Dirty laundry is washed in the family” (74%), which confirms that the exchange of ideas and methods for solving problems is still limited.
Also, 65% of respondents consider to a large and very large extent that acts of verbal violence by adults against children in public spaces are signs of physical aggression at home.
6 out of 10 Romanians (58%) declare that they do not remain careless when they observe violent behavior towards children around them, most of them intervening if it is a serious form of violence manifested by strong blows (37%) – to a significantly greater extent urban residents (39% vs. 32% rural), while 21% declare that they intervene for any form of violence.
In the perception of Romanians, the main measures that should be taken to prevent and combat violence against children are the promotion of healthy and non-violent relationships in the family (63%), education and awareness in schools and the community (55%), supporting counseling services and intervention in cases of violence (49%) or the implementation of child protection laws and policies (45%).
When we consider the condition of the Romanian education system, we discover that almost a third of the population (28%) holds the view that formal schooling only adequately prepares children for adulthood.