Parents who are desperately seeking inspiration to keep the kids entertained this half term have revealed their disappointment with soap culture.
Parenting on Female First
New research, that studied over 2,800 TV soap scenes, has revealed only 3.5% feature children and 7 out of 10 mums are calling for writers to feature more quality family time.
With three quarters of Britain's mums wanting to see their favourite soap families enjoying time together, does all this doom and gloom threaten viewing figures?
The media department at Bournemouth University studied scenes from soapland favourites Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street to see how family life was depicted.
Whilst 75% of the scenes were centred in the family home featuring youngsters in their everyday routine, researchers discovered a lack of focus on the children and their needs.
Do we really take parenting advice from the likes of Sally Webster and Phil Mitchell?
Dr Dan Jackson, from Bournemouth University, said: 'TV soaps, although often intended for escapism, are incredibly influential.'
With 90% of mums surveyed agreeing soap bosses need to do more to shine a positive light on family life, the results demonstrate a far from child friendly soap world.
With over half of mums agreeing it is hard to entertain the kids when stuck indoors, and over a third admitting they struggle to invent fun activities themselves, it is no surprise desperate parents will look for even the smallest gem of inspiration in the cobble streets, behind the bar or in the cafe.
The study has found, much to the disappointment of parents looking for half term relief, less than 10% of scenes showed families involved in fun, child-friendly activities.
The research was carried out as part of Flora Buttery's 'funspiration' activity guide campaign, which provides quick weatherproof activities to keep the kids entertained this Easter.
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