Content area
Full Text
They're spoilt, badly fed pests and they should be better educated. But on the other hand, they are manipulated by advertising and bowed under the weight of peer pressure. British adults just don't seem to be able to make their minds up about kids in the UK, according to the Marketing to Children 4-11 survey from research company Key Note.
"We carried out some similar research a couple of years ago," says Lisa Morrison, marketing communications manager at Key Note. "We wanted to see how adults' attitudes to dealing with 4-11 year- olds on issues such as diet, consumer behaviour and advertising had changed over time."
There are around six million children aged between four and 11 in Britain, according to figures from the 2001 Census. These kids live in a society where parents tend to be older, families are smaller and divorce is common. Even the fabled statistic for family size - 2.4 children - is no longer true; the average family now has 1.64 children.
The results of these societal shifts have resulted in a number of situations that are of interest to marketers. Smaller families mean parents have more money to spend individually on each child. High divorce rates create 'weekend parents' who are willing to spend money on leisure and dining experiences. And many working parents 'guilt spend' to make up for less time spent with children.
So how do adults in the UK feel about the youngest consumers of all? It appears that many are still unsure how to approach this complex consumer group. Sixty per cent of grown-ups believe that children between the ages of four and 11 are spoilt by their parents.
This sentiment is most strongly felt in the south-west of England - by 76% of the respondents. It is given least credence in London with only 47% agreement, where parents may not have a great deal of time to spend with children and feel less concerned that pleasing their kids is wrong.
Those of both genders aged over 55 are...