It was reported that there has been an increase in childrens’’s purchasing power which generates billions in revenue for related companies and corporations such as Disney. This phenomenon which includes largely “tweens” (preadolescence), are found to be the largest driving force in this market. Who then enables these kids to have such big spending power? I would naturally assume their parents are the ones. I’ve come across an article in the papers that mentioned a parent who recently spent several hundreds of dollars buying high school musical merchandises for her child. It certainly shocked me there on the amount spent.
A fine example of such merchandises:
Are parents so caught up with work that they feel buying their kids the things/toys they want is a way of compensating time with them? Or, are parents nowadays just so willing to spend loads on their child? If it is so easy for a child today to get what he/she wants, would a child still be able to learn the value of money? Hence, my research question would be focused on these tweens’ parents’, “How much are you willing to spend on your children on movie themed merchandises?” My hypothesis would then be, “As long as it is within my financial means.”
Through an attitudinal survey, I hope to be able to find out what are the views of these parents (with children aged between 8 to12) with respect to buying of these movie themed merchandises and to what extent are they willing to spend for their children. (problem statement) It is therefore, my wish to raise awareness of these parents (and parents-to-be) with regards to their expenditure on their children and probably a self-check to see if they’ve gone overboard. (purpose statement) We certainly don’t wish to have to come up with a “managing your finances” education in future, do we?
Here's some advertisements to relish our childhood memories:
Through an attitudinal survey, I hope to be able to find out what are the views of these parents (with children aged between 8 to12) with respect to buying of these movie themed merchandises and to what extent are they willing to spend for their children. (problem statement) It is therefore, my wish to raise awareness of these parents (and parents-to-be) with regards to their expenditure on their children and probably a self-check to see if they’ve gone overboard. (purpose statement) We certainly don’t wish to have to come up with a “managing your finances” education in future, do we?
Here's some advertisements to relish our childhood memories:
7 comments:
Hey You Fei! I always felt that kids nowadays are more fortunate in the sense that they have parents with higher disposable income who are very willing to spend on toys for their kids. I always felt that good toys are very beneficial to a child's growth as it will aid them in developing their thinking abilities. However, I feel that movie themed merchandise is more or less a waste of money and they are only made popular due to the extensive advertising efforts from the companies.
This study is feasible in the sense that it will allow parents or parents-to-be to reflect on how much they are spending on such merchandises for their kids although i doubt that all parents will start to pamper their children any less even after looking through your study. The research question is appropriate and has a narrowed scope (movie-theme merchandises) which makes carrying out the study/survey easier.
Cheers!
WOW...IT IS A BLAST FROM THE PAST!!!
I actually had the whole Polly Pocket and Play-Doh set when I was a kid! I'm a big fan of Yellow Ranger because I didn't want to be like every girls who liked Pink Ranger. Ah, those were the days!
Anyways, interesting topic indeed. MacDonald's give out these movie-themed toys in Happy Meals even before the movie is released. I personally think this toys are just like fashion trends. Once a new film comes, that Shrek doll will end up under the bed. The only people making money are the movie industry which earn from selling licensing rights to make these toys.
Parents indulge their children too much. When I went to Disneyland recently, I must admit kids these day can get anything they want with the help of a tantrum and pout.
I think this research is feasible as the targeted group are easy to locate. I think this research would definitely ruffle some feathers of some parents about how they are spoiling their children. However, I won't bank on them changing their habit too. I agree with Shaun that the research question is a good focused one too.
Hello! I must admit I used to be a fan of Barbie and Polly Pockets. In fact, I still keep quite a number of polly pockets somewhere in my cabinet. But don't get me wrong. My parents do not pamper me with toys when i was young, those were mostly gifts from relatives and friends. However, I do agree that singaporean kids nowadays are pampered with toys, a little too much. And toys have evolved from dolls, cars and robots to gadgets like PSP, Nintendo and what not.
As for your research question, I suppose it can extend to whether parents are over-spending on toys for their children. I think to survey on parents would be feasible since they are easy to reach out to.This study would be meaningful as it could serve as a wake up call for parents to spend more time instead of money on their children.
I think this is really a good topic we can look into. good job!
I must say children are getting more and more fortunate nowadays. I once worked for a toy company as promoter and saw parents agreeing to almost any toys their children wants. Naturally, parents will try to give their children the best within their limits. Thus, they may ended up "pampering" their kids unknowingly.
I feel that this topic is feasible and important as it allows parents to reflect on how much they have overspent on themed merchandises. Survey can also be easily obtained from its target group and the research question focuses on the problem.
Hi Youfei, I’m a little lost as to who has the spending power – the kids or the parents? You mentioned that the kids are the ones with the purchasing power but your research question is focused on parents “so willing to spend loads on their child”.
You need to rephrase your hypothesis; it should be able to answer your research question. So, you could have a hypothesis like, "Parents are willing to spend a lot of money on their children's toys."
I have my doubts about whether reading your report will lead to raising parents' awareness levels of how much they are spending on their kids. I believe they are quite well aware of their indulgence in their children. Even if it does make them more enlightened, what happens after that? Is that your end goal?
Hi Ms Kim, I mentioned that the kids' have increased spending power (which this ability is powered by their parents) as the market is largely driven by them. As in, they are the consumers but the ones paying would of course be their parents.
My ultimate goal might be a little futuristic in the sense that, since the government has been encouraging singaporeans to increase it population, what many people overlook is the fact on how to execute good parenting. Today, we see alot of problems with parents being unable to take their child in hand and have to resort to governmental organisations to "help" them take care of their children. Could over-indulgence in the kids be one of the many cause of this undesireable outcome?
Hence, my goal could be targeted to govermental bodies (those involved in, for example, counselling parents or the juvenille court), or even counselling firms to probably begin a workshop/course in educating parents/parents-to-be in executing "good parenting".
How the parents themselves behave, would very likely be how the child behaves in future. Is that also a possible reason as to younger people chalking up credit card debts and going bankrupt?
I guess I haven't made myself clear enough in the post and hope this reply "helped" in doing so. (:
Post a Comment