6/8/2005
6:27:00 AM
To:
National Desk, Features Reporter
Contact:
Shawna Seldon, 212-255-8455 ext. 12 or shawna@rosengrouppr.com,
for AARP
WASHINGTON,
June 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Twenty-two years after the
show went off air, people
still have a soft spot for Little House on the Prairie
and its iconic dad, Charles Ingalls, says a
new AARP The Magazine Father's Day survey, which placed
Ingalls (Michael Landon) atop a
list of top TV dads with 30 percent of the vote. Playing
second fiddle to Ingalls is Cliff Huxtable
at 25 percent (Bill Cosby), followed by Ward Cleever, 10
percent (Hugh Beaumont) and Ozzie
Nelson, 7 percent. Full results can be accessed at
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/family.
In
a survey of over 1,000 Boomers, AARP The Magazine also
asked respondents a series of
questions about relationships with their fathers. When
asked to describe the strongest emotion
they felt in their relationship with their father, 41
percent said love, while 35 percent said respect.
"Boomers'
fathers were often shaped by the hardship of the
Depression and World War II, so I don't
think it is too surprising that respect is competing
with love as the dominant emotion," said AARP
The Magazine Editor Steve Slon.
Other
findings included:
--
Surprisingly, only 36 percent of respondents said their
father was the primary disciplinarian,
compared with 41 percent who said mom played the heavy.
--
Only 28 percent of people said they looked to their
father for advice raising their own children,
compared to 40 percent who solicited their mother's
help.
--
Both men and women are in regular contact with their
parents. Seventy-four percent of people
say they currently stay in touch with their mother or
father by phone, email, mail or personal visits
at least once a week; including 29 percent who stay in
touch every day.
--
52 percent of survey respondents felt closer to their
children than their parents were to them,
compared to 29 percent who did not.
As
for what people plan to get their dad for Father's Day:
clothing, cologne and a book topped the
list.
Results
from this survey were obtained from a nationwide
telephone omnibus conducted by
International Communications Research between April
13-24, 2005. Responses were gleaned
from 1,033 adults, ages 45-59.
Visit
AARP The Magazine Online's Family channel at http://www.aarpmagazine.org/family
for
more resources and insights on moms, dads,
grandchildren, and the rest of the family.
------
AARP
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization
dedicated to making life better for people
50 and over. They provide information and resources;
engage in legislative, regulatory and legal
advocacy; assist members in serving their communities;
and offer a wide range of unique benefits,
special products, and services for our members. These
include AARP The Magazine, published
bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, their monthly news
publication; Segunda Juventud, their bimonthly
Spanish and English magazine; NRTA Live and Learn, their
quarterly newsletter for National Retired
eachers Association members; and AARP's Web site, http://www.aarp.org.
They have staffed offices
in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For
more information, or to speak with AARP The Magazine
Editor Steve Slon, please contact Shawna
Seldon, The Rosen Group, 212-255-8455, ext. 12.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
-0-
/ 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
