Avinash born 1972, attained puberty in 1985, was a youth in late 80s & early 90s. Avinash was one of the three kids in his family with one elder brother and a younger sister. His mother was a homemaker and his father was in service.
His parents always disciplined him and when they saw him misbehaving (at home or outside) he sometimes even got reprimanded physically.
It was only Avinash’s grandparents who indulged him.
Akash born in 1982, attained puberty in 1995, was a youth in late 90s and early 2000s. He was the elder of the two male siblings. His mother was a teacher and father’s an engineer working with a company.
Akash was groomed the soft discipline way wherein he feared his father but seldom took his Mom very seriously.
He was always told to be a good boy. Akash was at best shouted at but rarely ever got reprimanded and, almost, never physically.
According to his mother Akash was indulged, and even spoilt by his grandparents.
Aayush, born 1992, attained puberty in 2005 and is still a teenager. He is approaching his youth in late 2000s and early 2010s. Aayush is the only child of his parents. His father travels a lot and mother works from home. They have a full-time help at home that looks after Aayush. Both his parents and his grandparents, who come visiting once in 3-4 months, pamper
Aayush. Ayush’s mother believes that children who are brought up without too many dos and don’ts develop into a better and more balanced personality. She never scolds Aayush leave aside reprimanding him physically.
She once got to know that the one of the teachers at Aayush’s school punishes kids who do not behave in classroom. Ever since then she has been looking for an alternative school for Aayush.
Avinash (1972), Akash (1982) & Aayush (1982) represent three different kinds of child grooming techniques that typify many of the urban middle and upper middle class households from these three different eras.
I summarize these three child-grooming approaches into Careful (Avinash era), Carefree (Akash era) and Couldn’t Care Less (Aayush era).
These three grooming era’s also reflect the prevailing parental mindset. While 70s were typified by apprehension about the future and thus an extra careful grooming mindset that bordered sharp disciplining etc.
The 80s & 90s were more bullish. Parents of this era have age and money on their side and it is this that makes them carefree. The carefree attitude manifests itself in the style of grooming that these parents choose to adopt subconsciously. Marriages are getting delayed and so is childbirth. Linked with this is the fact about both mother and father being employed out of home and thus limited time for the kid. Double income translates into higher disposable income coupled with the parental guilt. Pampering the kid is a way of redeeming a lot of these guilt pangs.
It is this guilt-soaked parenting that is creating an entire crop of kids who couldn’t care less about anything or anyone including their parents.
What is more important for advertisers and marketers like us is, what kind of consumers would these three boys become. While on one hand Avinash would have been a more submissive child (at least overtly), Akash and more importantly Aayush would become more expressive and confident kids.
Though I am not aware of any Empirical study that suggests that there is a positive correlation between the degree of liberal grooming for a kid and the extent of the child being expressive & confident, but my observations suggest that there does exist a positive correlation between the two.
If that is the case then we as marketers and advertisers need to gear up for new breed of confident, demanding, expressive and fearless young kids who question and behave more like informed adults much earlier in their life than their predecessors.
The future of kid marketing looks more like marketing to teens & young adults.
His parents always disciplined him and when they saw him misbehaving (at home or outside) he sometimes even got reprimanded physically.
It was only Avinash’s grandparents who indulged him.
Akash born in 1982, attained puberty in 1995, was a youth in late 90s and early 2000s. He was the elder of the two male siblings. His mother was a teacher and father’s an engineer working with a company.
Akash was groomed the soft discipline way wherein he feared his father but seldom took his Mom very seriously.
He was always told to be a good boy. Akash was at best shouted at but rarely ever got reprimanded and, almost, never physically.
According to his mother Akash was indulged, and even spoilt by his grandparents.
Aayush, born 1992, attained puberty in 2005 and is still a teenager. He is approaching his youth in late 2000s and early 2010s. Aayush is the only child of his parents. His father travels a lot and mother works from home. They have a full-time help at home that looks after Aayush. Both his parents and his grandparents, who come visiting once in 3-4 months, pamper
Aayush. Ayush’s mother believes that children who are brought up without too many dos and don’ts develop into a better and more balanced personality. She never scolds Aayush leave aside reprimanding him physically.
She once got to know that the one of the teachers at Aayush’s school punishes kids who do not behave in classroom. Ever since then she has been looking for an alternative school for Aayush.
Avinash (1972), Akash (1982) & Aayush (1982) represent three different kinds of child grooming techniques that typify many of the urban middle and upper middle class households from these three different eras.
I summarize these three child-grooming approaches into Careful (Avinash era), Carefree (Akash era) and Couldn’t Care Less (Aayush era).
These three grooming era’s also reflect the prevailing parental mindset. While 70s were typified by apprehension about the future and thus an extra careful grooming mindset that bordered sharp disciplining etc.
The 80s & 90s were more bullish. Parents of this era have age and money on their side and it is this that makes them carefree. The carefree attitude manifests itself in the style of grooming that these parents choose to adopt subconsciously. Marriages are getting delayed and so is childbirth. Linked with this is the fact about both mother and father being employed out of home and thus limited time for the kid. Double income translates into higher disposable income coupled with the parental guilt. Pampering the kid is a way of redeeming a lot of these guilt pangs.
It is this guilt-soaked parenting that is creating an entire crop of kids who couldn’t care less about anything or anyone including their parents.
What is more important for advertisers and marketers like us is, what kind of consumers would these three boys become. While on one hand Avinash would have been a more submissive child (at least overtly), Akash and more importantly Aayush would become more expressive and confident kids.
Though I am not aware of any Empirical study that suggests that there is a positive correlation between the degree of liberal grooming for a kid and the extent of the child being expressive & confident, but my observations suggest that there does exist a positive correlation between the two.
If that is the case then we as marketers and advertisers need to gear up for new breed of confident, demanding, expressive and fearless young kids who question and behave more like informed adults much earlier in their life than their predecessors.
The future of kid marketing looks more like marketing to teens & young adults.
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