Are kids growing older younger?

Kids have a huge spending power of over £13 billion per year and are specifically targeted by marketers and advertisers as a result. It has been proven that kids love advertising and pick up on the messages portrayed really fast, thus encouraging them to buy products more readily than their parents. This love of advertising material mixed with the need to constantly want something new or something that is considered to be "cool" in the school playground may result in the art of pester power where kids will nag their parents indefinitely until they manage to persuade them to buy the brands that they want. This may go on for days, weeks and months, or even years depending on the impact and price of the product in question. The kids may resort to cleaning their bedrooms, washing their parents cars or doing general household chores in order to get the answer they so desperately want.

Pester power is seen to have increased over recent years, possibly due to the fact that children are being swamped by so much advertising. "Toddlers stand transfixed by the sight of their favourite cartoon characters on cereal packets" and more often than not "have television advertising jingles word perfect" while they are still "small enough to fit side by side on the sofa. By the time they are teenagers, they are finely attuned to brand names." (Telegraph, 2008)

It has been found that kids must by a specific brand of product - one that has been advertised on TV, one that their favourite TV character or sports idol wears, or one that everyone at school has got. Brands create an identity, a sense of belonging and also, in some cases they can create exclusions, in the way that for example, wearing the wrong or "uncool" brand of trainer to school could be detrimental to that child's place in a group. Therefore, kids buy a specific brand in order to to perceived as a specific identity whether it be unique and individual or to fit in with a group. According to marketers and advertisers, this basically states that if there is no brand, there is also no identity, in which case their job could be deemed almost useless in the way that there would be no-one to target directly and if kids were to not follow any brands there would be no consumer loyalty and no competition to be the most popular brand.

Many adverts target protective parents who think of their child as being extremely vulnerable, no matter what age they may be, and want to protect them in any way that they can. However, in comparison to this, many adverts target the parents that are trying to encourage their children to grow up faster and become more independent.

Rise of the Child Women

A feature in the Daily Mail has backed up the idea that children are growing older younger and in particular, girls are at the forefront of this. The Rise of the Child Women illustrates the increasing desire for young girls to leave their childhood behind with the obsession of "manicures, diets and dreams of breast implants." Glossy magazines such as Heat and Look are major influencers of these "new breed of girls" who fashion themselves on the celebrity icons featured in the magazines. Girls in this "category" who in many cases are no older than 10, style themselves on celebrities including Jordan aka Katie Price and Paris Hilton. Bob Reitemer, chief executive of the Children's Society comments on a recent two year study into childhood in the UK, "there's no doubt that we are putting so much pressure on our children today to grow up too quickly,. What really worries me are the increasing levels of anxiety among children, especially young girls, who feel they are not thin enough, not beautiful enough, and compare themselves to the impossible images of their airbrushed idols in magazines." (Daily Mail, 2009)

The girls are obsessed with make-up, hair and fashion spending all their pocket money on cosmetics, clothes and ways to make themselves feel or look older. Horrifyingly, many are also putting money aside for future cosmetic surgery...from the age of 10 years! TV shows and films that centre around relationships and the constant need to look good including friends and The Devil Wears Prada are favourites among this category feeding their need to be fashionable, skinny and beautiful.

Studies undertaken by Mintel in 2008 investigate how "manufacturers capitalise on the growing financial independence of young consumers with less advertising." This research suggests the ways in which the attitudes and patterns of spending among the younger generations are changing with regards to the current economic situation which may result in parents not being able to give their children so much pocket money, attitudes of the children and the pressure to follow fashions, fit in with the crowd and be more independent. Sales of "junk food" such as crisps, sweets and chocolate have seen a huge decline as a result of the constant emphasis on healthy eating and childhood obesity with parents limiting the amount they purchase and children spending their money on clothes and cosmetics instead. The constant desire for children to look like the images of airbrushed celebrities that they are so often exposed to in magazines and on TV create the need to buy more clothes and make up, many times as a result of peer pressure and the need to "fit in with the crowd."

Attitudes of money vary greatly between ages with 7-10 year olds being the most likely to save money that they receive and chilren over 11 spending money "without thinking about it." With an increase in the choice of savings accounts aimed at children in banks and building societies, there is the urge for parents to encourage their little ones to save money so that they have their own funds available to buy something if the need arises. These small lessons early on in life will provide children with valuable skills for the future. The emphasis on healthy eating and a healthier lifestyle is encouraging parents as well as children to contribute more money towards healthier food options and also sport and other leisure activities.

Generally, the amount of pocket money a child receives nowadays is a lot less compared to previous years, although many are not reliant on just one source. Grandparents still tend to provide funds despite the fact that they are having to watch their own income a lot more closely due to inflation rates of general household bills and food.