As care-givers, parents often feel the brunt of over spending kids as noted by one of the mothers involved in the Brat®Trax (7-15 year olds) study when asked about perceptions of materialism: “They (the child) even compare cell phones, they ask you: When are you going to change your cell phone? What will people say with this phone?”
With one foot in the recession, parents will have to adopt a rationed approach for their kids, going forward – providing rationed indulgence in order to survive the looming effects of the recession yet still maintaining some modicum of contentness.
If you’re a parent you’ll know the excessive demands kids can make! Youth Dynamix have highlighted the ascendance of a new trend from its Brat®Trax study – DemandAge – where nagging had evolved from pestering into demanding.
The youth research further shows how the youth have only recently started saving as opposed to their past financial habits revolving around living for the ‘now’ (spending quickly to receive instant gratification). Saving for the youth (16-24 years) has increased from 50% in 2006 to 70% in the Youth®Trax 2008/9 study – the condition of the economy is understood by this group. For the 7-15 year olds however, saving is still negligible with only around a third saving anything significant. Although this may forecast a bleak relationship for financial institutions with the youth, it also offers them an opportunity to educate them on the fruits of short and long term saving.
Youth Dynamix 