Royal Mail : Papa can preach…and he does

'Manners go a long way, and they don't cost a penny' (65.3%), 'there is always someone worse off than you' (57.6%) and 'be good or be careful' (52.5%) are the fatherly snippets that have shaped our lives, according to new Royal Mail research revealed today.

Finest father offerings according to 2,000 people are:

1. Manners go a long way, and they don't cost a penny (65.3%)
2. There is always someone worse off than you (57.6%)
3. Be good or be careful (52.5%)
4. Check your oil and tyres once a week (46.3%)
5. If you let the small jobs add up, they become big jobs (45.5%)
6. Honesty is not the best policy; it is the only policy (45.4%)
7. Worry about the things you can change - don't worry about the things you can't (44.1%)
8. Don't ever think you are better than another person (41.1%)
9. Why would you want to be like everyone else? (40.6%)
10. What other people think of you is none of your business (37.2%)

Nearly half (48.4%) of those interviewed said that their dad offered the best advice while a further 41.5% said they would be happy to turn into their dad when they get older.

Thankfully 'save on the washing by wearing your socks inside out' (10%) and 'if you're not bleeding, you're not hurt' (8.9%) were deemed as the most ignored snippets.

Around the country, 'manners go a long way, and they don't cost a penny' is the piece of dad advice that people are most likely to recite themselves. People in Wales (65%) are most likely to go to their father for advice followed by Scotland (64%) and East Midlands (62%). While those in East Anglia (35%) and Scotland (34%) worry the most that they are beginning to sound like their dad.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: 'Dads up and down the country undertake a number of roles on a daily basis but it would appear that giving valuable advice is the top one. It is clear that many of us still remember the wise words said to us by our dads. Perhaps we have more to thank them for than we actually realise!

'With this in mind, we are encouraging people to send a Father's Day card this Sunday 18 June to say thank you for all their fantastic, and not so fantastic, pearls of wisdom.'

History of Father's Day
The first known Father's Day sentiment was carved in clay by a Babylonian youth named Elmesu nearly 4,000 years ago. In the message he wished his father good health and a long life.

The exact origins of Father's Day as we know today are not clear, though the movement for a day which celebrated fatherhood began roughly 100 years ago. The most widely believed inspiration is Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd from Spokane in Washington. After listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909, Sonora campaigned local churches to introduce a day for fathers in June. She chose June as it was the month of her father's birth. The idea became a reality the following year when Spokane celebrated its first Father's Day on 19 June 1910.

See a range of vintage Father's Day cards here: http://gallery.royalmailgroup.com/fathers-day

Ends
ISSUED BY
Royal Mail press office
Rebecca Maund
0203 338 1007
rebecca.maund@royalmail.com

About Royal Mail
Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK's designated universal postal service provider. UK Parcels, International and Letters ('UKPIL') comprises the company's UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the 'Royal Mail' and 'Parcelforce Worldwide' brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability to deliver to more than 29 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.