What’s Up With These Kids?

Despite a decline in their overall population, tweens (kids aged 8-12 years old) in the developed world are becoming more empowered as parents and other family members are spending more and more cash on their children, according to Euromonitor International. Tweens are also having a greater influence on family decisions, such as buying a car and choosing a vacation.
   
And while the number of tweens will gradually dwindle in most countries, they will continue to become more powerful and influential. This will result from increased levels of independence, a general rise in disposable incomes and more pampering due to parental guilt.
   
Power due to parental guilt? Are you scared? I know I am.
   
In some cases, children as young as five or six want to use cosmetics for fun, such as lip gloss, nail color and hair products. While most tweens use the cosmetics and toiletries purchased by their parents, which, in the case of basics such as bath products and shampoos, may be shared by the whole family, cosmetics and toiletries manufacturers are increasingly targeting this age group with specifically designed products in an attempt to add value and create interest.
   
More products targeted at tweens are being launched, representing another potential growth area for manufacturers. Read about this trend in “Child’s Play: Packaging for Kids’ Personal Care Products”.
   
And if you think the kids are growing up too fast, check out the flip side of that coin with “The Fountain of Youth: Anti-Aging Products” by contributing editor Christine Esposito. Not just for the mature and wrinkly, anti-aging face and body products are now being promoted by specific decade, starting with skin care lines that target those in their twenties. Elsewhere in this issue, be sure to read all about “The Right Applicator” by Leah Genuario.
   
I hope to see you at Cosmoprof North America.

Ava Caridad