Kids control family purse |
| Posted: 18 Feb 2011 04:32 AM PST PESTER power is booming as parents face a barrage of nagging and headstrong, brand-conscious kids. Research shows many children are having an enormous say on how families dip into their wallets. More than half of all kids aged six to 13 describe themselves as the main decision makers for buying games and toys. More than a third also wear the pants when choosing clothes, shoes, breakfast cereals, chips, CDs, magazines and DVD rentals. One-quarter even claim credit for deciding holiday destinations, national Roy Morgan Research polling reveals. The market research company's agencies director, Michael Duncan, said children's power over the average home's purse strings was significant. "This generation is well informed and clearly understands brands and specifically what they think is cool right now," Mr Duncan said. "They often know what they want and expect to be able to convince their parents to buy it for them." A survey of almost 3000 of the nation's smallest consumers found they were least likely to influence what kind of family car was bought, the type of dinner eaten each night or the fruit and vegetables being bought. Parenting expert Michael Grose said pester power had become more persistent with shrinking family sizes. "About half of all Australian families have two kids or less. The smaller the number, the louder they are heard," Mr Grose explained. Sole parents were most at risk, he warned. Mr Grose said it was healthy for children's growth and independence to have a say in some decisions, such as food and clothes, as long as they did not overdose on lollies or poor choices. "We don't want families to be a nanny state where everything is vetted," he said. "Kids need to learn to make decisions by themselves without mum and dad around." Deakin University consumer behaviour expert Dr Paul Harrison said children were exposed to far more brands and marketing - and their parents had higher disposable income - than 20 years ago. collierk@heraldsun.com.au This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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