For Immediate Release
Contact: Randi Brightman
(212) 645-6900 x149
randi@jerichopr.com

THEY MAY JUST BE WORDS ON A PAGE
YET, WHAT WE READ AS A CHILD HAS A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON THE ADULT WE BECOME
IKEA Conducts National Survey About the “Power” of Reading
in Conjunction with Its Month-Long Store Donation Initiative to Benefit Save the Children’s Web of Support Program

According to a national survey of 1,000 respondents conducted by IKEA, the leading home furnishings retailer, how often we were read to as children and the types of books that we read when we were old enough to do so, has a significant impact on our adult lives. The survey found that respondents who were often read to as a child were more likely to refer to their marriage as adventurous (55%) than those who were not read to frequently (46%). The respondents that were not often read to were more likely to refer to their marriage as argumentative (30%) compared to respondents that were read to often as a child (21%). Also of interest was that people who spend the most time with their kids were more likely to have enjoyed autobiographies best, while people who enjoyed adventure books best as a child spend the least amount of time with their children.

The IKEA survey, which was conducted in conjunction with the launch of a month-long effort (until April 30, 2002) to raise money in support of Save the Children’s Web of Support program, was created to show how powerful reading as a child can be, and the impact it has on us as adults.

“In our efforts to work together with our shoppers and raise money to benefit thousands of children that Save the Children helps across the country, we were also interested in the direct influence that reading as a child has on us as adults,” explained John Zurcher, Social Responsibility Manager, IKEA U.S. “The importance and meaning that books have on our lives, especially as children, is very clear in this survey’s data results and further confirms that opening a book can open many doors.”

The survey also found that the respondents who indicated that they had enjoyed reading fairy tales the most were more likely to describe themselves as shy and reserved (34%), while the respondents that enjoyed children classics the most were more likely to describe themselves as witty (38%). In addition, people who were not often read to as a child were almost twice as likely to say that their favorite leisure activity is TV compared to people who were often read to as a child (10% v. 6%).

The survey also found that: 53% of female respondents were read to very often as a child compared to male respondents (42%); those who enjoyed reading educational books the most as a child were more likely to spend their leisure time playing sports (19%) the most; and among respondents who enjoyed hip hop and country music the most, they were more likely to have enjoyed reading Little House Books best as a child (43% and 42% respectively) -- among a specified list of books. Also, the books accountants enjoyed most to read when children were mysteries and people in the military enjoyed science fiction most.