Video: Childhood Reimagined

Culture Vulture - Mindshare InSites
Cover image for  article: Video:  Childhood Reimagined

In this episode of Culture Vulture Live we are discussing Childhood Reimagined, a trend that we identified at Mindshare.  Parents are spending more time than ever with their kids.  But thanks to the ubiquity of screens and tech toys, that time isn’t always the quality time that parents yearn for.

The hyper-connected world we live in can cause tensions for both parents and their kids. Common Sense Media found that children are getting phones at younger ages and spend more time each day using mobile devices (48 minutes on average) than reading or being read to (30 minutes).

Researchers recently found that kids become more creative with fewer toys, causing some parents to take a more minimalist approach.  Parents are also trying to balance the tensions of mobile moderation.

According to Nielsen, 71% of parents say they worry their children spend too much time in front of screens, but they don’t want to be overbearing or have their child feel left out from social groups by going completely screen-free.  Schools are taking note.  Seventy-five of the students at the Waldorf School in Silicon Valley are children of tech executives, but the school doesn’t let kids use screens in the classroom until 8th grade.

Standards around homework and testing are changing, too.  Some elite schools are reducing the amount of homework and starting later, enduring criticism from opposing viewpoints.  And the evolution of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is evolving again, with some pushing this categorization to expand into the arts, as well.

This is an important trend for marketers to keep an eye on, because a child’s interests will vary based on what they are exposed to at home.  A child who has access to a lot of screen time will be a different type of consumer than a child who doesn’t get a cell phone until the age of 13.  

How does your brand offer utility or guidance that addresses the struggles of modern parents? Does it support children’s learning with the current evolution in education?  Because when it comes to tech and toys, sometimes less is more.

For more information on the latest in Adaptive Marketing, please visit MindshareInTheLoop.

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