| News
& Views
- Aug, 1992 Issue |
Kids As Customers
A Review
Dr. James McNeal, a professor
of marketing at Texas A & M, has a new book entitled KIDS
AS CUSTOMERS.
Among some of his finds: children
between the ages of four and twelve spend at least $6 billion
a year and this will exceed $9 billion by 1992. In addition,
he says children influence, and thus are the real decision
makers, for at least an additional $100 billion in family
spending.
Also, children have their own
cable network, Nickelodeon, with 53.2 million subscribers,
and 160 publications (up from 86 in 1986). He estimates 30,000
television ads are directed at children annually, some by
companies who do not even sell products for children.
This seems part of the trend
to give more and more responsibility to children to make decisions
for themselves at younger and younger ages. So long as this
trend continues, the number of children making bad and devastating
personal choices will continue to increase. This means the
need for Special Purpose Schools and Programs will continue
to grow. Someone will have to give these lost children some
structure for learning how to make good choices.
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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