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Parents, beware of KGOY!
In know of a girl, who sneaked the bottle of mascara she had pestered her mother into buying to school, while another mother takes her teenaged daughter for beauty treatments.
Every weekend, Ashima, the mother of two girls aged eight and five, is dragged to high-end stores such as Zara and Mark and Spencer, where her daughters force her to purchase makeup, footwear, and earrings.
“My daughters are fond of getting dressed up and are the ones to update me about the latest trends.They emotionally blackmail me and often make me buy them items they hardly need!” she complains.
These days kids refuse to hear ‘no’ from their parents. This modern malady, which is an alarm bell for parents, has been termed as KGOY (kids growing older, younger). It may upset parents but brand managers and marketers cannot help but rub hands with glee. From international kids’ wear to fashion, and from toys to beauty care, almost all brands target kids and youngsters. KGOY is an acronym used by youth market analysers to describe the modern phenomenon parents face whenever they visit departmental stores.
The other day when I visited the girls’ section of the store, I found a small child throwing a tantrum as the bewildered parents stood helpless. She wanted the expensive Barbie house on display. Her parents cajoled her, scolded her, and even tried to barter, but to no avail. The child was fixated on the product, and eventually her parents had to give in. I was exasperated at the stubbornness of the child. Children can be tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and terrorise their teachers.
The media, too, has entangled kids in their thick-knit web of virtual reality.There has been a sharp rise in tumultuous terrorising behaviour among children. Girls have always enjoyed getting dressed like their moms, but nowadays beauty products and salon makeovers that are available for young girls reinforces the already ubiquitous message that beauty is skin deep. I feel this lifelong regime of primping and upkeep starts as early as soon as girls are out of the cradle.
Just how image conscious young girls are these days can be gauged from an anecdote I heard at a gettogether: “I got this dress from Burberry kids specially for this event. I wanted to look the best, and we searched the whole mall for accessories. Now, I look like Cinderella,” a young girl was heard saying to her friends. The conversation centered around their dresses, and the return gifts that they had recently received from birthday parties.
Nowadays, children are getting mature at a younger age, and KGOY has become a reality. Children and teens have started developing a sense of identity, and are anxious to maintain a sophisticated self- image.The stores zealously market attractive products to young kids and entice them towards a glamorous lifestyle.
I know of a girl, who sneaked the bottle of mascara she had pestered her mother into buying to school, while another mother takes her teenaged daughter for beauty treatments. It is her way of expressing her love for her daughters. Meanwhile, her daughters are so obsessed with their appearance that they suffer from emotional and body dysmorphic disorders.
Let kids be kids and let them enjoy their childhood, and protect them from falling prey to the marketing web, KGOY. It is true that the child is the father of man, but we must make our kids realise that every phase of life has its own joys and they must experience them without adulteration.
(The author is associate professor of English, MLN College, Yamunananagar)
