What kids think, according to two reports

Originally published on my tumblr blog on 10/27/09

I’m always on the look out for more information about kids – what they like to do, how they spend their time, and so on. Two recent reports, while not specifically about kids and games, provide some interesting information. All told, the two serve to remind us of the role of technology in children’s lives as well as the importance of children’s immediate social surroundings.

1. Smartypants Young Love Surveys Children’s Popular Brands
Smartypants released survey results of the brands children ages 6-12 love best. Topping the list of 100 is Nintendo Wii and DS. It’s a fairly technology heavy list. I’m not sure if that’s because it’s an accurate representation of kids’ interests or if they distributed the survey digitally, which could attract a larger proportion of technology-loving respondents. Still, it was nearly 5000 kids, so that’s got to count for something!

Incredibly scary was the amount of the list that’s food brands. (At least it’s scary to me…) But it’s also interesting that technology has a larger presence than television networks and programs.

The main technology players on the list are
1: Wii
2: DS
12: iPod
14: Playstation
22: Nick.com
31: PSP
36: YouTube
42: Xbox
50: Mario
51: iTunes
54: iPhone
65: Google
76: GameCube (surprised me!)
96: Nintendogs
The tv networks and commercial properties on the list are
7: Nickelodeon
13: Disney Channel
17: Cartoon Network
35: Spongebob Squarepants
46: iCarly
75: Animal Planet
84: LEGO
95: Monopoly
Read the full list at http://www.asksmartypants.com/younglove/Young_Love_Top_100.pdf

2. Highlights State of the Kid 2009
The good folks at Highlights for Children (my old stomping ground) recently released the results of a reader survey. 845 kids (ranging from 5-12) returned surveys that were bound into the March 2009 issue or answered the survey online.

The questions are more about childhood than about any specific interest area and the report is written in such a way that still promotes the magazine, but it’s still a nice peek into kids’ lives.

The highlights?
* Kids overwhelmingly said their biggest problem is schoolwork, homework, and tests (23.4%). Then comes social issues, such as dealing with parents (8.1%), siblings (8.7%), and friends (7.3%).
* Outside their family, kids admire their friends (28.4%) and their teachers (17.2%).
* If kids had an extra hour in the day, 36.3% would play, have fun, or play video games.

Various research studies have shown that at age 3, children have around 15-20 people in their social network, and it’s mostly caregivers. By age 9, they have around 40 people in their network. The growth is mostly from the addition of friends. The questions Highlights asked help remind us that children worry about social issues and that their social situations can also be an important influence.
On a side note, it’s also fascinating to read what kids would tell President Obama (20.9% would tell him he’s liked) as well as what they want grown-ups to know about being a kid today (28.9% said being a kid is hard and 21.3% say being a kid is fun). They peppered the report with actual entries from kids, which is just plain fun to read.