New research finds 64% of British parents wish their kids knew more about them when they were younger

• 1 in 5 children (18%) don’t even realise their parents were children once
• 1 in 7 children (14%) think their parent’s first name is mum or dad
• ODEON Cinemas wants kids to know their parents better and for parents to unleash their inner child this summer to celebrate a huge summer of family films
• ODEON has trained its cinema staff to lend a hand to families this summer

ODEON Cinemas knows families better than anyone, but it would seem kids don’t actually know much about their parents, with 20% of children saying they don’t know anything about their parents when they were younger, and 18% of them saying they didn’t even realise they were children once.

The new research, commissioned by ODEON reveals the majority of parents (64%) say they wish their children knew more about them when they were younger, with 1 in 7 children saying they don’t know where their parents grew up and 1 in 5 saying they have no idea where their parents were born.

To celebrate a huge summer of family blockbusters, ODEON wants adults to unleash their inner child and bring families together through film – after all, adults are big kids at heart, with almost 60% of parents admitting they get more excited about family films than their kids do. The survey also revealed that 70% of families think that watching family movies at the cinema is one of the best ways to bring the family together and learn more about each other.

ODEON commissioned the research to help develop a new training programme for its cinema colleagues, specifically designed to help make the cinema-going experience as stress-free for families as possible and to encourage families to bond over film. With 2019 one of the biggest years for family film on record, the colleague Helping Hand training programme is just one of the initiatives within ODEON’s new We are Family manifesto, designed to make it easier for families to spend quality time together at the cinema.

Chris Bates, Commercial Director at ODEON UK & Ireland said, “We’ve had lots of fun developing this new initiative, especially with such a huge summer of family films coming up. We hope this will help parents and kids to learn a little more about each other and bond over quality screen time together watching films this summer at ODEON! There’s nothing better than debriefing a movie after watching it all together, hopefully this will help kids understand their parents better and enjoy those precious family moments.”

Other family-first additions include the introduction of new family ticket offers to make a family trip to ODEON cinemas the best value for money and the introduction of O-Zones, kids interactive areas where kids can have fun before and after the film.