Guilt, status sell designer baby items By William Loeffler TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, April 16, 2006 If babies could talk, they might say "Whoa!" Call it parental one-upmanship, ego transference or guilt-based marketing, but blankets and a rattle no longer are sufficient for today's babies. They need designer onesies, Baby Einstein DVDs and massage therapy. Retail sales of juvenile products grew from $850 million in 1980 to $7 billion in 2004. The category of products includes everything from prenatal through preschool, except for diapers, food and apparel. The figures were compiled by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents nearly 400 U.S., Mexican and Canadian companies who manufacture or import infant products such as cribs, car seats, strollers, bedding, decorative items and accessories. Tousled toddlers in sophisticated tuxedos stare out from billboards and magazine ads. Neiman Marcus sells jewelry for toddlers, including a $32 freshwater pearl bracelet with a 14-karat gold-plated lobster clasp. And then there's the Baby Steps Electronic Food Mill from Kidco, which retails for about $30 and allows parents to puree fresh baby food for their little one, using vegetables, fruits, cooked meats or pasta. And don't forget a T-shirt for your baby that says "Future Trophy Wife" from Rock Apparel, a Tampa-based company that sells "hip baby clothes with an edge." Any parent who truly cares about their baby must buy them the Bugaboo, a $900 Dutch Stroller featured on an episode of "Sex and the City" and prized by urbanite parents who insist its nubby wheels can navigate city sidewalks and streets better than other strollers. Mark Diamond, a pediatrician with South Hills Pediatrics, frequently gets questions from parents who have just read the latest literature or article about something that can promote their baby's well-being. For example, some parents ask him if they should give their babies bottled water. "There are bottled waters made for babies," says Diamond, whose practice is part of Children's Community Pediatric, a subsidiary of UPMC Children's Hospital in Oakland. "Some have fluoride, some don't. I tell them, 'Our tap water is monitored rigidly for sterility.'" He says there is no evidence that other trendy baby activities -- yoga or massage -- may help to relieve your baby's stress, as some claim. It might. But as for the latest toys and gadgets that allegedly stimulate your baby's brain, save your money, he says. "The average 1-year-old likes nothing better to take a spoon and bang on a pot." Merchandisers know how to exploit parental guilt, Diamond says. "I think what happens is that, as a parent, particularly a new parent, you never want to do the wrong thing. We struggle with the idea, or the fear, that we're doing the wrong thing. After all, what training do we have to be parents? The answer is none." If guilt is the No. 1 motivator of baby excess, status runs a close second, critics say. "It's almost like keeping up with the Joneses Juniors as far as the kids are concerned," says Andrea Vincent, a Manassas, Va., mother who founded www.seemommyrun.com, a Web site that helps mothers find running and walking partners. "They have to have designer labels, designer shoes. You have to have the very best strollers." Baby Rock Apparel of Tampa, Fla., designs onesies and T-shirts for babies and toddlers whose slogans range from "boob man" and "lock up your daughters" to "diva." Ryan Strayer, who started the business two-and-a-half years ago with his wife, Kim, says that many of the "boob man" T-shirts are purchased by fathers who want to relive their wild youth through their sons. "They're kind of proud when they put their son in it," he says. He says the products are appropriate. He and his wife started the company when their son, Conley, was born. Strayer says he couldn't see putting his son in a sailor suit. "We're more edgy than the old-fashioned baby boutique where everything is blue and pink," he says. However, he says their Web site, www.babyrockapparel.com, has refused the more "atrocious" suggestions for personalized T-shirts from visitors. "Really, what the shirts are, it's more of the parent being able to show their kids off and their own feelings." Joe Perry is the father of the Perry sextuplets, Ian, Zoe, Olivia, Simon, Joshua and Madison. The six siblings recently celebrated their third birthday on March 19. "To each their own," Perry says. "Still, I find myself commenting on an 18-month-old that has a $50 outfit. Not that I think it's a bad decision, but that I find it entertaining that a company would make that and a parent would buy that for their kid." He and wife, Erin, who live in Ohio Township, also have a 6-year-old son, Parker. "You certainly see parents spoil their children with the Eddie Bauer strollers and Tommy Hilfiger outfits," Perry says. "We haven't gone out and had to buy much for the kids. A lot of things that we had were just what they needed, and not designer strollers and backpacks." Hillary Carrozza wasn't even born when her father, the late Leo Ash, founded Babyland and Kidsroom, in East Liberty, 55 years ago. She has worked there since she was a teenager and now owns the store. "I agree that most of the products we sell are selling to the parent," she says. "A lot of it doesn't really matter in terms of how the baby is going to be brought up. They're all safe products. If somebody is interested in getting the top of the line, then it's a fun place to be able to spend your money. There's nothing wrong with that. A lot of women say they switch from their own designer stuff and they have more fun buying it for the baby." Babyland sells a few unusual items, such as a toddler chopstick training set with miniature, spring-loaded chopsticks. "You can show your child how to eat sushi," she says. Parents also can buy cologne for mother and baby, called Eau de Soin spray. There are some products they declined to carry, however. One is a self-propelled baby stroller with a mechanism similar to a lawn mower. Another is a miniature urinal for little boys that attaches to the bathroom wall. We can just imagine the ads for that one. |
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