home : hartbeat : 2002-10-18

10.18.2002

“HartBeat” is The Hartman Group's FREE online newsletter, providing insight, analysis, information and strategy to give business leaders the knowledge and vision to build sustainable brands.

For more Hartman Group articles on CHILDREN'S WELLNESS...

NATURAL SENSIBILITY

Embracing a Wellness Lifestyle Market Opportunity: An Alternative to Sugar-Stimulated Cuckoo Birds

"Mom, can I have this? Pleeeeze!": Opportunities in Children's Wellness

ARCHIVES
For archives of past HartBeat articles, click here...

This issue of HartBeat is excerpted from a recent N|sight Magazine, The Hartman Group's bi-annual publication exploring the dynamics of the health and wellness arena.

Archives »
Click here for an archive of past HartBeat articles

digg
del.icio.us

reddit
twitter

friendfeed

StumbleUpon

Children's Wellness who's Leading The Charge? - Part One

Introduction
Recently, we sent our qualitative team, consisting of anthropologists and sociologists, out into the field to conduct ethnographic research with parents and children in various regions throughout the United States. Their mission was to learn about the world of children's wellness and understand how parents and children negotiate a wellness lifestyle.

THE MEANING OF WELLNESS: A Parent's Perspective
Parents encompass physical, mental and emotional elements when describing children's wellness. When they begin talking about their attempts to keep their children healthy and well, they often begin with "regular exercise" or "adequate play time" as well as emphasize their attempt to reinforce "eating well" to their children. The emphasis on diet includes eating fresh fruits and vegetables, having three balanced meals per day, watching the amount of sugar and fat intake, limiting junk food and engaging in "healthy cooking" habits.

I pretty much try to teach by example. If I'm exercising and eating pretty good, the chances of them [children] following suit are more likely. If I'm sitting on the couch eating Ruffles and drinking a beer every night after work, why shouldn't they develop the same habits?
- Male, Mid-level Wellness Consumer, Denver

More involved wellness consumers consider a child's "wellness lifestyle" to go above and beyond "healthy eating" and "regular exercise." They are likely to engage in a higher level of wellness behaviors, such as purchasing organic products, reading articles on children's health and nutrition, and encouraging their children to regularly use vitamins and other supplements.

When parents discuss other aspects of their children's health, they begin to talk in more abstract terms, such as making sure that their child feels "happy," "secure," "loved" and "able to enjoy being a child." Parents also refer to their children having "more energy" and "better skills" in school as a result of living a healthier lifestyle. Overall, the attitudes and beliefs about children's wellness directly correspond to how parents feel about their own health and wellness.

THE MEANING OF WELLNESS: A Child's Perspective
As is true with other aspects of their life, children's views on wellness are often patterned after their parents, in many cases reflecting elements of what their parents try to teach them such as "not eating too many sweets," "brushing my teeth everyday," or "playing outside." However, children are more or less articulate about what health and wellness means depending on their age:

Children under the age of 4 are unable to talk about and/or draw images of what health and wellness means to them.
Children ages 4-8 tend to think of health and wellness in terms of carrots, broccoli and apples. Individual fruits and vegetables that are their favorites come to mind first, accompanied by foods low in sugar and brushing teeth. With some probing, exercise came to the surface for children over the age of 6.
Children over the age of 10 have much more concrete understandings of health and wellness and include the following in their definitions: a broader range of foods related to the food pyramid, multivitamins, drinking water, brushing teeth, exercising, getting rest, and avoiding smoking and drugs. They are also aware of meat alternatives, low-fat and low-sugar foods, and a few even mention organics. Children of this age include mental and emotional health in their definition of wellness, citing family, friendships, education and relationships with animals and nature. Annual doctor's visits also ranked highly among this age group.

We found that boys and girls have different awareness levels and interests in health and wellness. In our interviews, girls were much more aware and interested in talking about wellness than the boys of the same age group. Boys did not spend much time thinking or talking about wellness at all, suggesting it is clearly neither a top-of-mind issue nor a popular one to discuss. Girls focus on fruits and vegetables, exercise, meaningful relationships, and nature, whereas boys equate health with foods served at dinner, sports activities, superheroes and computer games:

Not getting sick and eating breakfast, those kinds of things are what make you healthy. Probably washing your hands, too.
- Boy, Age 9

Find out next week how these different perspectives affect the purchase decision at the shelf. Stay tuned for Part II: Children's Wellness: Making Decisions & Negotiating.

Comment »