Posts Tagged "Mom Trends"

Fascinating article in today’s New York Times, suggesting that parents’ obsession with technology — from smartphones to computers — is actually damaging their children. It claims that the amount of time parents focus on these tools would otherwise be spent  on their children — talking with them, playing with them, and otherwise interacting.

For the past five years, Sherry Turkle, director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self,  has been studying how parental use of technology affects children. Her findings: Feelings of hurt, jealousy and competition frequently result. These reactions were particularly common on three occasions: at meals, during pickup after school or extracurricular activities and during sports events.

Other research has shown that the amount of time parents spend talking to their children impacts the children’s vocabulary. The article gave examples of how, in many cases, the average number of words per hour spoken by adults to a child increased drastically when the parents’ smartphones and computers were turned off.

For more, visit here.

Personally, I’m obsessively attached to my Blackberry, so I understand how a mom could get distracted. But the potential impact is disturbing.

I’d love to know your thoughts. Has tech time gotten out of hand in your family? Do you feel your kids are suffering because of it? If so, what if anything have you done to cut back? And will you make any changes as a result of the findings noted in the Times article?

Late last month, I was invited to the Meredith Parents Network presentation of its recent study, What Moms Want. Meredith’s Parents magazine is a Child’s Play Communications client; we have represented its toy line for some time. The research turned up some interesting facts, and I’d like to share some of the key findigs here:

• 62% of moms grade themselves a “B” at balancing the demands of motherhood.
• 56% of moms meet other moms via friends of friends, while 39% rely on social networking sites. 
• 70% say their ability to multi-task has improved since becoming a mom.
• 79% of moms agree finding “me time” is a challenge, but 75% find a way.

I was impressed that most moms considered themselves pretty good at balancing–this is such a major issue, it was good to learn that so many felt they basically had it under control. I couldn’t help but wonder how our own mothers’ generation would have graded themselves.

The percentage of moms making friends through social networking certainly represents a milestone, when one considers that until a few years ago, such an opportunity did not exist.

That the ability to multitask improved with motherhood was no surprise — how else can we possibly get it all done! I remember, when my son was born, astonishing myself with how much I could suddenly do at once — because I had to.

And as for “me time” — personally I’m still looking…

Moms, what do you think about the study results? Marketers, what can you do to help moms balance, multitask and find some time for themselves?

I hope to get back to you soon with some additional findings.

According to a Forrester Research study released on Tuesday, one in every three online Americans is a “conversationalist” — an individual who updates his or her status on a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter at least once a week.

Fifty six percent of these conversationalists are women, with household incomes slightly above average, and they are more likely to have a college degree than the average consumer. In terms of age, the breakdown for conversationalists, accorindg to Forrester, is as follows:

• 18-19: 36%
• 30-43: 37%
• 44-53: 14%
• 54-64: 9%
• 65 and older: 4%

Also, only about 17% of adults online DON’T participate in social media, and 59% of online consumers participate in social networks about once a month.

Readers, are you conversationalists? How much time do you spend on social networks? Why? And would you rather spend more, or less?

In the next few months, there will be more women in the workforce than men – surely a cause for celebration for those who believe in equal opportunities for the sexes.

Or is it?

According to a Pew Research Center study conducted last spring, 19% percent of Americans – nearly a fifth of the entire population — think women should return to their traditional roles. For those of us who were around before the term “women’s lib” was even coined, that number is something of a surprise.  But even more intriguing – although possibly less surprising – is the response of mothers surveyed: “A substantial majority of all working mothers (62 percent) say they would prefer to work part time. Only 37 percent would prefer to work full time. In contrast, an overwhelming majority (79 percent) of working fathers say they prefer full-time work. Only 1 in 5 would prefer part-time employment,” stated an article in U.S. News & World Report.  The same article pointed out that the great majority (86 percent) of working moms say they sometimes or often feel stressed (been there, felt that). But so do almost as many mothers who stay at home (82 percent).

As a mom who started her own business just before her son was born, I had the best of both worlds – a full time job that I loved, the opportunity to take my son to the office with me and, as he got older, the flexibility to take off time whenever I needed to – although as any working mom knows, time taken “off” during the day usually leads to that number of hours or more catching up in the middle of the night.

Moms, what is your ideal – full-time or part-time employment? And how do you feel about the fact that so few dads would prefer a part-time opportunity? Companies, what options do you offer moms in the workplace?

Holidays make me ambitious. It’s true: I have so little down time during the rest of the year, I can’t think beyond what absolutely needs to be done, right now, this instant, to make sure we’re on top of things for our clients. When I take a few days off, I actually have time to let my mind rest and wander, which is when I’m at my most creative. (Then and in the shower, of course.)  My key ambition this year: create a series of wonderful events to bring marketers and moms together. We’ve already held two successful Bloggers Brunches and a mommy blogger panel presentation in New York City, as well as a lovely Team Mom dinner in Chicago at BlogHer, among other events. Next month, for client Goddard School, we’re organizing an expo offering moms answers to everything they wanted to know about choosing a preschool  and highlighting hands-on participation by moms and kids alike in events such as yoga for three-year-olds and a toddler tea party designed to teach manners. Actually, we’re putting together our invitation list now, so: Anybody out there a Boston mom blogger or able to recommend one? And by the way, we have a big Los Angeles get-together on the horizon as well, so I’m sending out the word: LA mom bloggers, send me your contact info, you’ll enjoy this event!

What about you? The manufacturers and marketers among you, what brilliant ideas did you conceive for 2010 that you’d like to share with (OK, promote to) the mom readers of this blog? If they sound good, I’ll run them in the comments section of this post.

And moms — what about your goals and plans for this new decade? I’m not talking about New Year’s resolutions — we’ve already heard the lose-10-pounds, be-a- better-person mantra. Instead, what are you feeling ambitious about in terms of your life, your blog, your work — and perhaps, what do you need from the companies reading this to make it easier for you to fulfill that goal? And while we’re at it, what would you like to see in a future blogger event?