i believe it does work,if the householder sees a youngster leafletting,they like it. my kids were too young but i had 2 teenagers leaflet for me and they were seen and i got a goodly response .
by the same token i also had a huge bellied middle aged woman leaflet for me and although she didnt get normally as good a response ,she was better at pounding the streets,day after day . she also walked Hadrians wall one weekend and was a bit of a character ,wore flip flops