Prosperity4Kids, Inc.
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Parents Spending Has Increased 600%
in the last 20 years!
I came across this interesting marketing research which can shed
some light on the intensity of the messages our kids are receiving
on a daily basis. I have sometimes wondered why my children want so
much more than I did as a child, and now I understand why.
As a parent
myself I hear the same anecdotes as you do,
̶
These kids today are spoiled ̶
They have so much more then they need, we did not give our kids all
the things you folks give your kids ̶
You just need to learn to say "no" like we did.
Well guess what we are facing a completely new set of circumstances
than our parents faced with us, we are not only fighting against our
kids with the "I wants" we are fighting against something we have
little control over.
"The Impact of Marketing
Messages"
By Robert Seith and Larry Eldridge,
JR of CWK Network, Inc.
The research is in; advertisers play a huge role in the lives of
children. Studies have shown that advertising has a strong influence
on children, and that children develop consumer thoughts at a very
early age. Consider the following statistics:
-
Children begin forming mental images of corporate logos by the
age of six months
-
"Brand loyalty" may begin as early as age two years old
-
One in five children are making specific brand- name requests by
the time they are five years old
-
Parents spending due to the influence of children age's four to
12 have increased 600 percent over the last 20 years- from $50
billion to $300 billion.
Begin talking to your child about advertising when he or she is very
young. By discussing various types of Advertisements, you can build
a foundation for your child to become a smart and cautious spender.
Open Conversations with Your Kids
Open the
communication with your kids and talk about money as much as
possible. Our money ideas and concepts start very early on, looking
back I realize my son always wanted the biggest most expensive toys
possible, he had the personality of ̶
I want that and I want it now! My daughter is more subdued she picks
and chooses what she wants carefully and is slow to make a decision
on the items she wants.
After reading the marketing survey, I realized that my son is very
affected by the messages of advertising and even now when he wants
the latest and greatest, his number one reason is because it's cool
and all his friends have it. He definitely has the personality of
someone living paycheck to paycheck, in debt and owning nothing but
having everything! And he is only nine years old.
It is an advertiser's job to get into your pockets and now it's our
job to help our own children recognize and understand this.
So you are probably thinking "yeah!" How do I have conversations
with my kids with out telling them how upset I am that they feel
they should have anything and everything they want?
The answer is; have open conversations with your kids without
putting them on the defensive, make it as positive and interactive
as you can and be truly interested in the final decision process.
This can be used for children of all ages. (I have been known to use
this on my husband)
When she tells you she wants something respond with, really, tell me
about it, what does it do, how does it work, does any of your
friends have it, and do they like it/and use it, do you know where
to buy it, who has the best price? Make it conversational and show
her you truly are interested in what she wants even if you do not
want her to have it. Asking these types of questions will encourage
a child to find out more about the item, to do some research, and
become educated on the product she wants. This also teaches delayed
gratification and to become a wise consumer. If she can answer all
the questions above and still wants the item than most likely, she
has made a responsible educated decision that the item is worth it.
9 times out of 10 if we asked ourselves these same questions we
would not buy half the items we do.
My son learned this recently; he wanted an i-pod but did not have
enough money. His main reason for wanting it was everyone had one
and it was cool. In the process of earning the money, he found out
that several of his friend's i-pods were already broken, it was
difficult for them to use and he had to pay extra to download the
songs for it. Once he saved the money, he decided that he did not
want to waste his money on it; the CD player he just got for
Christmas was great! And he did not want to go through the trouble
of having to read the directions and figure out how to use it.
This was a great lesson for him and in the mean time Apple came out
with another one that is a quarter of the price, so now he has
started the research process again deciding if this might be
something he wants or not. In the past, he would have bought first
and thought after, now he thinks first and buys after.
Why Do I Let Them Make the
Decision?
Many people ask me if I do not believe he should have something why
would I let him spend his money on it.
The reason I give him the choice is I am very open with him and my
daughter about the way I feel and if something is appropriate or
not, but I will allow them to make the final decision as long as it
is in line with my family values. Of course, I would never allow
something that is harmful or dangerous or not age appropriate, but
what I hope is that the values I instill in my children now will
help them make better decisions in their future. I would much rather
have my son make a decision with an i-pod now and make a mistake
that would cost him a couple of hundred dollars than have him go out
into the world and make a mistake that could cost him thousands and
his financial security later.
Tell Me and I
forget; Show me and I remember; Involve me and
I'll understand
Involving your children in the decision making process early on will
allow them to see they have choices in life and we must take
responsibility for the choices we make. Allowing children to make
small mistakes now in the security of your home will lessen the
mistakes they make later away from home. In the end, this could be
the difference between financial security and bankruptcy.
Lori Mackey is an award-winning author and
founder of Prosperity4Kids, Inc.
She is recognized as a leading expert on kids and money.
To get your free reports on How to use Allowance and the
10/10/10/70
money management system email:
PR@prosperity4kids.com
or call 866-PIGGY4U
Media and PR Contact
Lori Mackey
Email: PR@Prosperity4Kids.com
Office: 818-991-5764
Cell: 818-424-9723
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