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Mr Duncan Morris, Vice-President (Research), Turner Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Monday. - Shashi Ashiwal

Mumbai , Sept. 20

ACHIEVING good grades and staying healthy were the two most important things for Indian children according to Cartoon Network's latest study spread across 3,206 children and their mothers hailing from the SCC A and B segments in 14 cities.

Among other findings, they were richer in Delhi, were cricket crazy all over but also loved badminton and hide and seek. Becoming a doctor was their most sought after profession and whether the purists like it or not, the most preferred food item of these children when eating out, was pizza.

`New Generations 2004' (as the survey is called) saw 91 per cent of mothers from Mumbai saying their children played outdoors regularly during school days, 93 per cent during holidays. The corresponding national averages were 62 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

Across boys and girls 56 per cent liked to play cricket, a higher 69 per cent to watch it. Sixty per cent of respondents chose Sachin Tendulkar as their all-time favourite sports person. From Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan emerged favourite actor and Preity Zinta, favourite actress.

Every fifth child in the sample had a room to himself/herself but in congested Mumbai only one in every 30 children had a separate bedroom. Jaipur, Ludhiana and Bangalore lead with one in every three children having his/her own bedroom.

In Kochi, surveyed homes averaged near six rooms but just 19 per cent of children had their own rooms. At the same time, rooms at Mumbai homes averaged 2.4, three per cent of children enjoying the luxury of their own room.

The survey's new segment, `Slice of Life,' saw 92 per cent of mothers from Ahmedabad saying that their families were vegetarian against a corresponding three per cent in Kolkata. As regards family patterns, 42 per cent of mothers in Jaipur said they lived in a joint family with Lucknow at 39 per cent and Kochi at 37 per cent following.

Mumbai was placed tenth with only 22 per cent of mothers saying theirs' was a joint family. Computer usage was highest in Mumbai with 81 per cent of respondents having used a computer in the three months preceding the survey followed by 78 per cent in Lucknow and 76 per cent in Ludhiana.

In Delhi, 89 per cent of surveyed parents gave their children an average pocket money of Rs 197 per month (highest among the 14 cities), same at all-India level being Rs 120 for 42 per cent of the sample. Children wield influence during family purchases of durables, in computers it being 44 per cent, televisions - 42 per cent, music systems - 43 per cent, cars - 33 per cent and mobile phones - 34 per cent.

The surveyed children were from the 7-14 years age bracket of which 90 per cent said good grades in studies were very important, 78 per cent attributing similar value to staying fit. At 69 per cent was praise from parents and teachers.

Compared to other markets where Cartoon Network does similar surveys, response here stands out for a greater emphasis on academics, higher frequency of examinations and notably, growing computer use but still lagging Internet access, Mr Duncan Morris, Vice-President (Research), Turner International Asia Pacific, said at a press briefing on Monday. Television viewing, however, averages near two hours a day for children across markets.

In the latest Indian survey, 84 per cent of respondents cited cartoons as favourite programme genre followed by sports with 36 per cent and comedy serials at 30 per cent. The top three channels at six metros were Cartoon Network - 52 per cent, Pogo - 15 per cent and Star Plus - 8 per cent.

Almost two thirds of families surveyed eat out at a restaurant once a month or more in Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad. Only a third do so in Chennai, Kolkata and Ludhiana.

"Based on the combined findings for all 14 centres, pizza clearly emerged as the most preferred food while eating out with 33 per cent respondents selecting it over South Indian food, Chinese cuisine or even burgers and chaat," the channel's statement said.

According to it, becoming a doctor remains the most sought after profession with 30 per cent boys and 44 per cent girls opting for it. While 22 per cent girls wanted to become a teacher and 8 per cent engineers, 17 per cent boys chose engineering as their career while 8 per cent wanted to be pilots.

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