Time to Talk Public Health is a nationally representative panel of Welsh residents established by Public Health Wales to enable regular public engagement to inform public health policy and practice. Welsh residents were asked their views on a range of public health topics. The survey had a focus on topics relating to children’s health and well-being, including questions of specific relevance to parents. To increase participation of parents in the survey, a parent boost sample was recruited to take part in the survey in addition to the routine general population sample.
The February survey focused on the following six topics: parenting information needs, perceptions of breastfeeding, role of education settings in child health, child behaviour strategies, mental well-being, and technology use with family and friends.
Follow this link to view the full report: Time to Talk Public Health: February 2024 Panel Survey Findings
The key findings from the general population sample have been highlighted on the summary page:
Parenting information needs
The top three (of ten) types of child-related information that people thought it was ‘very important’ for parents to receive from the NHS were:
- Spotting signs of serious illnesses in children (93%)
- How to perform first aid (87%)
- Supporting children’s speech, language and communication skills (83%)
Perceptions of breastfeeding
58% of people said they think breastfeeding is ‘very important’ for babies’ health and development, with 31% thinking it is somewhat important.
Role of education settings in child health
Of nine child health and well-being areas, those that most people said they ‘strongly support’ education having a role in were:
- Supporting online safety (77%)
- Preventing smoking and vaping (76%)
- Accessing support for mental health difficulties (74%)
- Preventing alcohol and drug misuse (74%)
Child behaviour strategies
The top three (of ten) child behaviour management strategies that people rated as ‘very effective’ were:
- Praising good behaviour (74%)
- Rewarding good behaviour (65%)
- Reasoning with a child (48%)
- Only 5% considered physical punishment to be ‘very effective’.
- 91% of people said they knew that all physical punishment of children is illegal in Wales.
Mental well-being
- 37% of people said they take ‘a lot’ of action to help protect and improve their mental well-being; 50% take ‘a little’ action and 12% take no action.
Technology use with family and friends
- 41% of people said their partner’s technology use had a negative impact on their relationship with them at least some of the time, while only 34% had this view when asked about the impact of their technology use on their relationship with their partner.
The report presents the findings from 1,261 residents in Wales from the general population (age 16+ years), as well as findings from parents of children under the age of 18 years, which includes 263 parents from the general population sample and 454 parents from a parent boost sample (total sample 717 parents). To learn more about Time to Talk Public Health, visit the project webpage.
Please do not hesitate to contact Dr Catherine Sharp (catherine.sharp@wales.nhs.uk), project lead, if you would like further information.
