Brits will still ask their dad to help with DIY and car maintenance until the age of 41, a study revealed yesterday.
Parenting on Female First
Researchers found that despite having a home and a family of their own, millions of adults will still turn to their father instead of doing it themselves or paying a professional.
More than eight in ten admitted their dad is always the first person they call whenever they have a DIY job they need help with because ‘they would struggle to do it themselves’.
Any job which involves a power tool is most likely to leave Brits running to dad for help, followed by bleeding a radiator, fixing leaky toilets or pipes and building a wall.
More than one in twenty Brits even admitted to calling their dad just to change a light bulb.
The research commissioned by sugru, a brand new self-setting rubber, also revealed that eighty five per cent of Brits admitted they would be completely lost without their dad’s help, with 45 per cent even claiming they won’t stop asking their dad until he is physically unable to do it.
sugru inventor and CEO, Jane ni Dhulchaointigh said: ‘’Most parents look forward to the day their children move out as it marks the end of having to look after them. But these results show that dad’s can be expecting pleas for help until their child reaches their forties, even when they have their own partner or family.
"People will admit their DIY skills aren’t one of their strong points, but it is surprising to see this younger, supposedly gadget obsessed, generation, running to dad at the sight of a power tool!"
The study, of 2,000 adults found that 73 per cent still go to their dad for DIY or car maintenance jobs, calling on them an average of three times a month.
But men are just as likely to leave it to their old man as women are - with seventy per cent of guys turning to their dad compared to 75 per cent of women.
And while 42 per cent get their dad in because they know they wouldn’t be able to do DIY jobs on their own, 39 per cent say it’s because they know their dad likes to help.
Another one in four reckon their calls for help give their dad something to do, while a cheeky 29 per cent do so because it saves them paying out for a professional.
Almost half of adults have even called their dad out late at night or early in the morning to help with an emergency job in their home.
The study found that one in three regularly turn to their dad to help with any DIY tasks which mean using power tools, while another 25 per cent rely on their dad to bleed radiators.
Fixing the toilet, leaky pipes or dripping taps, building a wall and changing a plug or fuse are also among the most common jobs Dad is called upon for.
Others will turn to dad for help with laying a patio, installing a kitchen, putting up a fence or tiling a wall.
Putting up shelves, building flat pack furniture, laying laminate flooring, carpets or decking, wallpapering and knocking down walls will also lead to Dad getting a phone call from their struggling offspring.
It also emerged that instead of being annoyed by the constant call-outs, 89 per cent of people think their dad secretly enjoys being their knight in shining armour.
Eight in ten even think their dad would be upset if they stopped relying on him for help.
Jane ni Dhulchaointigh added: "The older generation were fixers at their core but younger people seem scared to have a go and prefer to buy new. sugru was invented to make things easier for people of any age who want to repair and enhance their things, but if quality time with your dad happens to be whilst you figure out how to fix a leaky pipe then great! What better way of bonding? Dads get to share their skills and the ‘kids’ get to learn something new."
Head to sugru.com for a special Father’s Day kit or tips on how you can have a go at DIY without dad... and power tools!
Top 30 jobs Brits are most likely to ask dad to help with:
1. Anything which involves using power tools2. Bleeding a radiator
3. Fixing the toilet
4. Fixing a leaky pipe
5. Building a wall
6. Fixing a dripping tap
7. Changing a plug or fuse
8. Laying a patio
9. Installing a kitchen
10. Putting up a fence
11. Tiling a wall
12. Putting up shelves
13. Building flat-pack furniture
14. Laying laminate flooring
15. Laying decking
16. Knocking a wall down
17. Laying carpets
18. Wallpapering a wall
19. Putting air in the car tyres
20. Painting walls
21. Topping up the water/oil on your car
22. Putting up curtains/blinds
23. Cutting the grass
24. Unblocking a sink
25. Hanging a picture frame
26. Stripping wallpaper
27. Sorting squeaky floorboards
28. Putting items into the loft/getting them down
29. Replacing light bulbs
30. Defrosting the freezer
www.sugru.com
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