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Recently surveyed Americans Reveal How Common Sense Impacts Their Lives
While common sense is easy to recognize but difficult to define, it's something that we take for granted. Common sense is most often expressed through how people make decisions, but without these concrete results, common sense can seem like an abstract, indefinable idea.
Clearly it's important to exercise common sense more often than not, but do people really consider what that means, or how having common sense directly improves our everyday lives?
In an effort to define the true essence and value of common sense, a recent study commissioned by the SCOTT(R) Brand asked Americans to identify how common sense has benefited their daily lives, and to pinpoint the role common sense has played in bringing them happiness with their families, in society and in the workplace. What emerged from the study's findings is a clearer picture of exactly what it means to have common sense and confirmation that without common sense, life can be very challenging. Key study findings include:

  -- 98 percent of Americans believe that common sense can benefit an
     individual in ways that school, books or traditional learning cannot.
  -- 98 percent of American parents say that having common sense has helped
     them to be better parents.
  -- 83 percent of Americans say that common sense has benefited them
     socially, and 82 percent of Americans say that common sense has helped
     them to avoid sticky situations.
  -- Three quarters of Americans say that common sense has helped them with
     regard to their finances (72 percent), to stay out of debt (73 percent)
     and/or to be better employees (72 percent).

"As the common sense brand, the SCOTT(R) Brand has spent the past few years providing Americans with a place to share, exchange and discover common sense, which can provide Invaluable knowledge for making lives easier," says Aric Melzl, SCOTT(R) Brand senior brand manager. "This most recent study revealed just how crucial common sense is for both children and parents, and we created the SCOTT(R) Pass It On contest to facilitate and reward the sharing of common sense through the generations. We encourage people to visit ScottCommonSense.com to learn more."
While the study's findings show that common sense plays a central role in many areas of everyday life, it also uncovered interesting differences in how common sense is perceived and expressed among age groups, geographical regions and genders. For example:

  -- When it comes to academics, Americans aged 18-25 are significantly more
     likely than all other age groups to have benefited from having common
     sense.
  -- When it comes to romance, Americans aged 25-44 have most enjoyed the
     benefits of having common sense.
  -- When it comes to solving problems, Baby Boomers (Americans aged 45 and
     older) are those most likely to have benefited from having common
     sense.
  -- When it comes to health, older Americans (age 55 and above) are
     significantly more likely to have benefited from having common sense.
  -- Americans residing in the Midwest (76 percent) and West (75 percent)
     are more likely than Southerners (71 percent) and Northeasterners (70
     percent) to say they have "above average" levels of common sense.

Clearly, common sense becomes relevant in different ways as individuals grow older and face new challenges and changing social contexts. The study also confirmed that common sense is passed down from parents to their children, and that as children age, they continue to pass down the common sense they learned from their elders. For example:

  -- Parents who teach common sense to their children are more likely than
     parents who do not teach common sense to have experienced the benefits
     of having common sense themselves.
  -- 86 percent of Americans feel that teaching common sense to children
     helps them become more prepared for life's challenges.
  -- 79 percent of Americans feel that sharing common sense with children
     helps them stay safe.
  -- 76 percent of Americans say that teaching common sense to kids helps
     them become more self-confident.

"Our own common sense says 'live and let learn,' but today's parents tend to overprotect our kids, never allowing them to learn the consequences of bad judgment or choices," says Stacy DeBroff, parenting expert and founder of Moms Central, Inc., a company that provides advice to busy families. "This study reveals that as parents we agree that teaching our children common sense helps them become more confident and able to face life's challenges."
Taking a closer look, the study indicates that when it comes to passing common sense on to one's children, mothers are more likely than fathers to say that having common sense has made them better parents, and that they teach common sense to their children. Consistent with previous studies conducted by the SCOTT(R) Brand, these findings reaffirm that moms are the keys to ensuring the passing on of common sense:

  -- 100 percent of mothers surveyed said that having common sense can make
     you a better parent.
  -- 89 percent of mothers surveyed said that they teach common sense to
     their children.

The study of 500 U.S. adults, conducted on behalf of the SCOTT(R) Brand by Braun Research, was fielded March 9-13, 2007.
SCOTT(R) Products is part of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation family of global brands
Web site:
http://www.kimberly-clark.com/
http://www.scottcommonsense.com/

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