UK Family Lifestyles Consumer Report 2026
82% of parents of under‑18s wish they were more active outdoors with their families, while two thirds think they and their children spend too much time looking at screens.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for family lifestyles and behaviours in the UK
- Opportunities
- Champion kid-parent co-creation
- Activate the great outdoors
- Build homes that flex
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THE MARKET
- Family finances are mostly secure, but challenges persist
- Graph 1: current financial wellbeing, by lifestage, 2026
- Despite growing household diversity, traditional units dominate families with children
- Brits are living with parents longer, and having their own kids later
- Graph 2: percentage of young people living with parents, by age, 1996-2024
- Graph 3: standardised mean age of parents, all births, 1984-2024
- Delayed traditional milestones are changing the nature of family life
- Child wellbeing and life chances are at the core of the government’s Plan for Change
- Legislative changes have sought to boost family finances and improve employment access and protections
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THE CONSUMER
- Family decision making
- Prioritise speaking to parents, but don’t neglect the role of kids in family decisions
- Graph 4: decision makers in the family, 2025
- Fashion brands should embrace their role in fostering teen identities
- Graph 5: decision makers for the clothes children wear, by age of children in the household, 2025
- Parents take more control of meals at home
- Help parents teach core life skills in the kitchen
- Play to the value of nostalgia to appeal to kidult parents and children alike
- Restaurants need to appeal to everyone to capture family diners
- Graph 6: decision makers for restaurants when families eat out together, by age of children in the household, 2025
- Family activities
- Parents prioritise time outdoors and with friends and family when entertaining their kids
- Celebrate the great outdoors
- Only half of parents of under-5s read books with their children, falling further as kids get older
- The Sunday Times looks to “Get Britain Reading”
- From “Gamer Moms” to “game with mum”
- Graph 7: activities parents typically do with their children, by gender, 2025
- The family shopper
- Retailers should focus on the physical and sensory environment of stores to help parents of young children
- Reassure parents that stores are safe spaces to bring their children
- Help parents to spend more time in store
- Retailers can appeal to a large majority with a few small tweaks
- Use of the home
- Modern homes host a myriad of activities
- Flexibility is key to maximising space for home activities
- Promote communal third spaces to young, urban professionals
- Graph 8: selected activities carried out in the family home in the average week, by housing situation, 2025
- Escape to the kitchen
- Graph 9: activities carried out in the family home in the average week, resident parents only, 2025
- Homes must be able to grow with families
- Attitudes towards family lifestyles
- Price concerns are holding back parents
- Design rewards around the whole family to boost brand loyalty
- Screens are a source of significant concern
- Successfully reducing screen time relies on promoting alternative activities
- Parents expect a degree of flexibility from their employers
- Graph 10: parents and work, 2025
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APPENDIX
- Report scope
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- TURF methodology
- How to read: TURF analysis
- UK generation groups
- Other data source methodologies
- Mintel Spark
- Abbreviations
82% of parents of under‑18s wish they were more active outdoors with their families, while two thirds think they and their children spend too much time looking at screens. This highlights growing demand for shared, wholesome activities.
Financial pressures are a barrier, as two thirds of parents feel priced out of family activities. Partnerships with leisure, entertainment and activity venues offer brands and retailers a powerful route to deliver affordable family experiences and build loyalty under cost constraints.
Changing use of the family home in recent years provides plenty of opportunities for brands to offer products and services that prioritise multifunctionality and comfort. Many homes must now how host work, play and learning, as well as a relaxing sanctuary from the outside world. This creates demand for multifunctional spaces and opportunities for brands to design adaptable, value-conscious products and experiences that help families make the most of their space both now and in the future as needs and priorities evolve.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Family financial situations, and the impact of recent policy changes on UK family finances
- Shifting household structures and delayed lifestage milestones
- How families make decisions on purchases and activities, including children’s increasing influence over what they wear
- Family activities, including screen time concerns and a desire for more outdoor, active family experiences
- In-store shopping preferences and the importance of sensory, child-friendly environments
- Demand for flexible homes that accommodate evolving family dynamics, pets and multiple activities
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