Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

PARTY POOPING PARENTS TURNING THEIR CHILDREN INTO PARTY PARIAHS

Please find below details of a story into children and adults' behaviour at children's parties alongside information on a new toy for stressed out parents from Upstarts - Pass the Parcel. Further survey results into parties are listed at the bottom of the e-mail.

Pass the Parcel from Upstarts is a new electronic, remote controlled version of the traditional party game of Pass the Parcel and saves on the hours wrapping up presents in old newspapers. Just fill the Parcel with sweets or gifts and set the music going. The Parcel can be operated using the remote control or will stop randomly by itself. At last! No more endless wrapping paper, sticky tape & mess! Age 3+ RRP £14.99.

If you would be interesting in testing a sample of Pass the Parcel alongside a feature on the survey results do contact Nick Sheppard on 020 7 535 1355. nick.sheppard@lawsondodd.co.uk

We also look after Bullseye, the board game and separate DVD game based on the classic 80s game show - expected to be a top toy for Christmas. If you would be interested in reviewing either game please e-mail Nick as before.





Date: 7 November 2005 Contact: Nick Sheppard/Pru Murray
Nick.sheppard@lawsondodd.co.uk
Lawson Dodd 020 7 535 1355


PARTY POOPING PARENTS TURNING THEIR CHILDREN INTO PARTY PARIAHS

Young parents (aged 20-24) could be the cause of their children’s party pariah behaviour, according to a survey by children’s game maker, Upstarts.


A significant 43 per cent of 20-24 year-old parents say that the prospect of the post party mess and mayhem puts them off holding a birthday bash. Only 25 per cent of parents aged 35 – 44 agree.


Even those young parents that do go ahead and brave a party seem to pass on their anxiety to their children. 57 per cent of children born to parents 20-24 cry and have tantrums on their special day compared to only 37 per cent of children with parents aged 35-44.


Regardless of age, nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of parents admit to ‘engineering’ events so their own child won a prize on their special day. There are some marked regional differences – this increases to 91 per cent in the north with the lowest score of 53 per cent in East Anglia.





Commenting on the survey, psychologist Donna Dawson said, “Parents get stressed out by children’s parties, because any perceived failure in their role as party-givers reminds them of the insecurities they feel generally in the role of ‘parent’. If other people’s children are unhappy, if an accident happens, if we imagine that another child’s parents appear to be judgemental or critical, it will be taken personally as a silent critique of our own parenting skills. Younger, inexperienced parents will plan a party in a blaze of naïve optimism, while older parents will be more nervous of looking after other people’s children, knowing full well from experience just what can go wrong!

“A children’s party can be seen as a microcosm of the real world”, Donna adds, “For example, ‘winning’, makes you better than the others. Parents may want ‘little Johnny’ to win on his birthday because it’s like an extra gift, but it is also a way of asserting ‘better genes’ over the other children and parents present. If Johnny wins, the parents gain ‘one-upmanship’, too.”


Tom White, MD of Upstarts, suggests, ““Parents can help themselves get into the party spirit as calmly and relaxed as possible by getting organised ahead of time, keeping things as simple as possible, roping in friends and family to help, and planning a different activity every ten minutes to keep up with a child’s short attention span.


“We get lots of enquiries from parents asking for toy recommendations to help their parties run smoothly”, Tom adds, “Nothing beats the old favourites like Pass the Parcel and Pin the Tail on the Donkey but it’s also worth having a few board games at the ready to bring out if children start getting fidgety. One of our biggest sellers at the moment is an electronic version of Pass the Parcel which bypasses all the messy newspaper wrapping – children love it and it’s in hot demand from parents who hate mess!”



- Ends -

Upstarts’ tips for unstressful parties

Plan ahead. Write a schedule of the order in which games take place

Keep it simple. Kids love the old favourites such as musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey
Rally friends and neighbours. Put each in charge of a game that keeps the children engrossed while the rest have a 10-minute breather
Decide to enjoy yourself. There aren’t many stains that can’t be shifted so stop worrying and join in the fun
Avoid the ‘sugar rush’. Use low sugar food options and swap sweets for raisins and fruit so children don’t go into hyper mode
Bring in the reinforcements. Get someone like granny to get the children into bed later, so you can relax
Cut corners. A few balloons and streamers will appeal to children more than an elaborately themed party room
Be savvy. Get the Upstarts battery operated Pass the Parcel to save all that wrapping, save clearing up all the torn paper afterwards and the children love it

Notes to Editors


§ Upstarts’ Pass the Parcel games available on request for review.

Further survey results available including:

§ 28% of parents would rather give their child extra toys than organise a party

§ Parents found being responsible for other people’s children the worst part of holding a children’s party, with elder parents aged 45-54 being most concerned by this

§ Younger parents aged between 20 and 24 are most concerned with being left with a messy house afterwards (43%)

§ 74% of parents would let their child win a present/prize at their own party

§ Pass the parcel remains the most popular children’s party game (79%), whilst Kim’s Game is played the least.

§ The majority (59%) of those questions cite playing traditional party games as forming the basis of their child’s parties. This is particularly true of the younger parents (aged 20-24) and those living in the East Anglia.

§ The youngest and oldest age groups (20-24 and 45-54) lead the way on watching videos and DVDs at their child’s parties – this is especially true of London and the east Midlands.

§ Most respondents said they tidy the house immediately after a party. This was certainly true of house-conscious Londoners.

§ A huge 57% of the youngest parents (20-24) said that heir child had had a tantrum or cried at their own party, whilst the older age groups said that theirs didn’t.