The overwhelming majority of the British public would welcome a return to traditional family values, a survey for VisitGuernsey has found. However, it seems that the pressures and responsibilities of everyday life may be preventing many from acting upon the traditional values surrounding the family, in particular eating together and spending time together.
86% of the British public agreed with the statement ‘I would welcome a return to traditional British values’, with 61% saying they strongly agreed. These findings are likely to be welcomed by those who may fear Britain has become a valueless society. It’s possible that older people are more worried about this, as support for the statement is far greater among the over-50s than it is among younger people. 92% of people over the age of 50 agreed with the statement compared to only 61% of 18 – 24 year-olds.
It is often said that one of the best ways to strengthen traditional family values is to eat together as a family, and the majority of the British public does indeed believe this to be important. When asked to rate the importance of sitting down as a family and eating together at the dining table on a scale of 1 – 10 (1 being not at all important and 10 being extremely important) an impressive 71% rated it between eight and ten. However while the majority of the public believes this to be highly important, only 43% say they eat as a family at a dining table over 20 times a month, (which would suggest fewer than five times a week) perhaps pointing to the idea that everyday life might getting in the way of people acting on their desire to reintroduce family values.
Furthermore, only 53% of the British public feel that they spend enough quality time with their loved ones.
Londoners (48%) and people from the South (49%) are the least likely in the country to feel that they spend enough time with their family, which would seem to reinforce the prevalent stereotype that Southerners are becoming more and more isolated from loved ones. Those living in Scotland are the most likely to feel that they spend enough time with family, at 60%. This figure drops to 56% in the Midlands, 57% in the East, and 53% in the North.
Considering that spending time with family could be seen as one of the simplest ways of strengthening family values, these findings suggest that people are often unable to demonstrate their apparent respect for family values in their daily lives.
