Booster‐seats, pies and twenty‐first century childhood

Abstract

Purpose

The paper seeks to understand the different attitudinal typologies of children and parents, and the interactions between them.

Design/methodology/approach

For parental segmentation, the paper uses target group index (TGI) analysis and qualitative focus groups. For child segmentation, qualitative focus groups are used.

Findings

Parents can be divided into three main outlooks (progressive, traditionalist, and populist) and into two main approaches (active/involved and “laid‐back”), making six segments in total. Amongst all groups, an emerging nostalgia for the “free‐range childhood” of earlier years was noted. The dynamics of child culture, meanwhile, involve two outer‐directed mainstream groups (leaders and followers) and two inner‐directed “outsider” groups (“geeks” and explorers).

Research limitations/implications

This is a practically focused study rather than a strictly controlled academic one, fusing the findings of widely different research methods.

Originality/value

The six‐group parental segmentation is, as far as one is aware, original, as is the term “free‐range childhood” to the best of one's knowledge.

Citation

Cairns, W. (2007), "Booster‐seats, pies and twenty‐first century childhood", Young Consumers, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 172-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/17473610710780918