June 2008

 

In This Version:

  • Signs of the Times AND Implications/Actions for Parks and Recreation

Signs of the Times

Denny's Restaurants: Rocking The Night Away

Denny's, the 50+year old restaurant chain well-known for its large servings of eggs and its 24 hour, 7 days a week service before 24/7 was even a concept, is making a move to “rock ‘n' roll” all night. This major shift in image is to address loss of market share and to attract the “20 something” market. Considering that 47% of Denny's late night market is diners under 24 years of age coming not from work but from a night out, this is a smart move.

Two of the major substantive changes are the inclusion of rock music and the involvement of several rock bands in making changes to the menu offerings. The late night menu includes value-priced offerings as well as “shareable” items such as nacho cheese fries, kettle chips, mini burgers,. tortilla chips with cinnamon and chocolate. (Source: USA Today ,.May 2008)

Implication: It's not your father's Oldsmobile; especially now that Oldsmobiles are no longer being made. It is beyond time to substantially change current program and service offerings to address the new world view of generations younger than Boomers.

Applications: The departments that have already changed from more traditional adult softball leagues to physical activities that are coed, more spontaneous, and less traditional re headed in the right direction. Think kickball, dodgeball, and pickup games.

Leisureville: Adventures in America 's Retirement Utopias

This is the title of a recently published book by Andrew Blechman who stumbled upon this emerging trend while visiting recently former neighbors in the Villages, a gated compound in Florida . The Villages are bigger in area than the island of Manhattan with a population of over 100,000 and no children anywhere. Blechman comments on the festive age-segregated lifestyle, downtowns designed by Universal Studios, hospital with no maternity ward, and media dominated by the developer with a point of view about the outside world.

Implications: Talk about erosion of sense of community. The growth of and the narrow focus of these communities does not bode well for society. The Sun City community in Arizona that has defeated 17 school bond measures in 12 years is one of the better indications of the implications of this trend.

Applications: While many of these development are “leisure central” with all kinds of activities and facilities, public department could and should make a concerted effort to involve residents of these places with ties to the community. Think of your department's ability to offer concerts and festivals that require a bigger venue or more current interests. Tap into the identified preferences of maturing baby boomers who want to volunteer and play a role in their community. (Blechman , Leisureville: No Place Like Hom. Atlantic Monthly, 2008)

Swimming Lessons: Nicety or Necessity?

Facts from the Centers for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drown.htm)

  • In 2005 (the most recent year for government stats), there were 3,582 fatal unintentional drownings in the United States
  • More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger.
  • Nonfatal drownings can cause brain damage that may result in long-term disabilities including memory problems, learning disabilities, and permanent loss of basic functioning (i.e., permanent vegetative state).

Who is most at risk?

  • Males : four times more likely than females to die from unintentional drownings
  • Children : Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years. 4
  • Minorities: Between 2000 and 2005, the fatal unintentional drowning rate for African Americans across all ages was 1.3 times that of whites. For American Indians and Alaskan Natives, this rate was 1.8 times that of whites. 1

Age and Ethnicity Combined The fatal drowning rate of African American children ages 5 to 14 is 3.2 times that of white children in the same age range. For American Indian and Alaskan Native children, the fatal drowning rate is 2.4 times higher than for white children. 1

The CDC identifies the following factors as being related to this issue: such as the physical environment (e.g., access to swimming pools) and a combination of social and cultural issues (e.g., valuing swimming skills and choosing recreational water-related activities) may contribute to the racial differences in drowning rates. There is a possibility that minorities participate less in water-related activities than whites which makes their drowning rates per experience higher than currently estimated.

Implications: The inability to swim if far more than the inconvenience of not being able to enjoy outings at pools and natural bodies of water.

Applications: Public departments across the country should work with other local agencies, Red Cross, Ys, etc. to ensure that all children and adults have access to swimming lessons – a necessity not a nicety.

States Trying to Trap(Attract) Their Own as Tourists

Oklahoma is putting together vacation packages between $600 and $1200 (the equivalent of the federal tax rebates) as a means of keeping their residents vacationing in state. Iowa has started a PR campaign identifying one tank trips within Iowa for residents to enjoy. As part of the state's Tours on a Tankful, Florida provides a fuel calculator on their Visit Florida website.

Implications: Gas prices are being used as an incentive for people to travel close to home and boosting the economy locally.

Applications: People travel to visit natural areas, special facilities, or events and entertainment. Take action now to position your areas, facilities, and offerings in just this way. Check out http://www.sbpark.org/ for South Bend , IN take on “staycations” mentioned in last month's version of trendSCAN.

Kids: From Self-Esteem to Self-Reliance

It may be college graduation time but that doesn't mean young adults are flying out of the nest. This season of the year has led to a flurry of books to the market helping parents understand that 24/7 helicopter parenting may not be the best approach for the future of their children. MonsterTRAK surveys found that although 22% of last year's graduates (2007) planned to move home for more than 6 months; 43% are still living there.

Implications: Yes, this trend may be partially due to the economic outlook, but it is a trend that has been increasing over time as parents continue supporting the success of their adult children.

Applications: Youth serving agencies have come under scrutiny in this area with the prevalence of the “everybody is a winner” approach. This practice is cited as contributing to this generation of youth not being able to deal with the lowered self-esteem brought about by being a “loser”. Consider re-creating the children-directed sports and games by providing safe places to play with supervision that facilitates but does not provide the actual participation.

Cookies Crumble as No. 1 Snack

Cookies are no longer the number one snack for children having been replaced by fruit. In fact, today's children are less likely to consumer soft drinks, ice cream, candy, cake, and fruit juice than children of 20 years ago. Mothers are currently more likely to provide fruit rolls, gummy pieces, crackers, granola bars, and bottled water to their children. (Source: NPD Group)

Implications: The messages about healthier eating patterns and potential relationship to obesity appear to be having an influence.

Action: Some department took the early lead in changing vending machine offerings and snacks for youth programs. To those departments, keep up the good work. All departments should make these same types of changes and widely share those changes and other information with parents.

Changing Preferences: Motivators and Dis-incentives

People do change and these changes are reflected in leisure time patterns and preferences. For instance, the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association reported that fewer people are playing golf as the numbers have either declined or remained steady since 2000 when the participation dropped from 30 million to 26 million players. ( NewYork Times, February 2008). Consumers mention less time to play; not wanting to leave families for an entire day; the economy; and a decline in sports activity among younger generations.

Another such change in leisure preferences in cited in the newsletter, Shaping Tomorrow. This trend in which the home itself has become an increasingly flexible, comfortable and convenient location for game-playing, recreational sports could be referred to as Extreme Cocooning. Why leave home when you can play right in your living room or bedroom?

Implications: All leisure providers including public ones will need to become more adept at addressing these under-utilized facilities. Golf courses have taken the lead in that area with offering youth or family tournaments; special parties and weddings, and target marketing towards women and youth.

Applications: When developing programs and services attempt to determine the underlying reasons for such participation as well as the potential dis-incentives as well. For instance, why would someone want to leave the living room when they can exercise at home with the Wii? What would keep someone from enrolling in an 8 week program? Lost evenings spent with families? These answers may help shape future success of opportunities

Time, Time, Time

While this is not a new trend, service providers have certainly become much more creative at dealing with this challenge to leisure participation. Check out the web site

www.busybeesnyc.com which is home to BusyBeesNYC, a service that uses technology to help busy parents in New York City customize a calendar to schedule quality activities for their children. This service does it all as it creates a schedule that works around the child's eating and sleeping patterns and develops a schedule that includes fee based activities, drop-in activities and a variety of activities that focus on music and sports to support the growing child. Schedule can include parents, grandparents, and nannies.

Providers of travel accommodations are also tapping into this “time” trend. Rental companies offer to go grocery shopping for their customers coming in for a week of skiing or exploring. The Ritz Carlton has recently added a list of nearby volunteer opportunities to accommodate the varied needs of their guests. (http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/Press/Releases/GiveBackGetaways.htm)

Implications: Time remains a high priority for making the most of leisure time particularly among more affluent consumers.

Applications: Break away from the more traditional patterns of time when offering programs and services. If you create a set of pre-school activities with the single parent or dual career couple in mind, what kind of impact might that have on participation? If you include the provision of all supplies and equipment rental within a program package, will that make it easier for people to participate?

When is Exercise more than Exercise?

That's what the National Institute on Aging wants to know as the most recent report on physical activity and older adults finds that nearly 80% of them pass up physical activity. A recent USA Today article about this trend asks the question “ if there was a drug that could prevent heart attacks, strokes, and cancer and treat everything from fragile bones to constipation while possibly staving off dementia and improving sleep” wouldn't you want it? (USA Today, June 16, 2008)

Implications: It is well documented that regular physical activity comes with a myriad of health benefits, but that people are still hooked on a culture on inactivity.

Application/Action: Few people like to exercise, but most people like to have fun. Reposition your physical activity programs with FUN being FUNdamental to physical activity and share positive benefits with young and old alike.

Skateboards in School?

Skateboards don't necessarily mean a visit to the principal's office anymore. Skate Pass, a company out of Boulder, CO offers schools “curriculum kits” starting at $3,000 that include helmets, pads and skateboards with wheels designed not to scratch up gym floors. The adoption of skateboarding into school PE curriculums recognizes the shift in this country from competitive team sports and physical fitness to a variety of activities such as yoga, martial arts, rope climbing that are more appealing to today's children. ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12708014 )

Implications: The growing realization that physical inactivity is a serious health crisis for children has resulted in the acceptance of new approaches.

Applications/Action: This is exactly the same recommendation as listed previously. Fun is fundamental to health and parks and recreation should take advantage of the edge they hold in that arena. We offer plenty of team sports, what can we provide for the ever-growing group who opt out of the more traditional activities?

Newby Employees and Volunteers

The boomers are coming and not just coming to the beach or your recreation center. This group that came of age during the JFK era of asking people what they can do for their country are now approaching that age when they are pursuing what Civic Ventures calls an “encore career”. Between 5 and 8 million people between the ages of 44 and 77 are seeking both an income and meaning as they seek out jobs where they can make a positive contribution.

This same organization cites the avalanche of maturing baby boomers as a real opportunity for organizations that provide “meaningful” volunteer opportunities.

Implications: Moving on to a new lifestage makes baby boomers more interested in ways to make a contribution to society

Applications: When you have trouble finding staff for part-time or more traditional entry-level positions don't overlook this group. Plus, do a serious revamp of your volunteer program to incorporate real meaning and responsibility into these opportunities. Forget about answering the phone and stuffing envelopes.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

  © California Park & Recreation Society, 2008. trendSCAN is created for CPRS by Leisure Lifestyle Consulting of Sarasota, FL. Comments and questions can be directed to Dr. Ellen O’Sullivan at leisurlife@aol.com. Please feel free to share interesting trend information with her as well.