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Crafty Kids
Listed under: One Voice
Published: Monday, July 06, 2009
With school summer holidays just around the corner, Lee Howes, Pritt brand manager at Henkel, talks about why now is the perfect time to tap into the children's market
“The summer holidays represent a unique opportunity for retailers, and while many will be stocking up for the lucrative back-to-school period, it is fundamental that vendors don’t overlook the profits that can be made in the run up to and during the school holidays. The longest holiday period of the year, coupled with weather that can be temperamental and a far from favourable economic climate, mean that this year in particular, parents will be looking for fresh new ways to keep their children entertained indoors and on a budget. Crafting ticks all of these boxes.
Although research may suggest that audiovisual and computer-based entertainment has reduced the amount of time children are spending on crafting activities and projects, most parents will recognise the important role that crafts has to play in their child’s development.
Enhancing a child’s imagination at an early age – through crafting projects – not only encourages creative stimulation, it can also be a hugely rewarding experience for both parents and kids. Crafting can help to develop and fine-tune eye-hand coordination, visual discrimination and cognitive and fine motor skills, in ways that computer consoles simply cannot.
For children, especially those aged between four and 12, very little encouragement is needed to get them engaged in creative crafting projects – especially when an activity is planned well and there is a clear and concise end target to be reached. The responsibility lies with parents to ensure that firstly, crafting is high on the family agenda and that children are sufficiently motivated to partake in crafting activities, and secondly, that crafting can be easily accessed by children at all times and that they are provided with all the tools they need to get creative.
Retailers should therefore make sure that crafting products are prominent in store, within eyeshot and easy reach of the customer on the shelf and heavily promoted with eye-catching POS and window displays wherever possible.”
Although research may suggest that audiovisual and computer-based entertainment has reduced the amount of time children are spending on crafting activities and projects, most parents will recognise the important role that crafts has to play in their child’s development.
Enhancing a child’s imagination at an early age – through crafting projects – not only encourages creative stimulation, it can also be a hugely rewarding experience for both parents and kids. Crafting can help to develop and fine-tune eye-hand coordination, visual discrimination and cognitive and fine motor skills, in ways that computer consoles simply cannot.
For children, especially those aged between four and 12, very little encouragement is needed to get them engaged in creative crafting projects – especially when an activity is planned well and there is a clear and concise end target to be reached. The responsibility lies with parents to ensure that firstly, crafting is high on the family agenda and that children are sufficiently motivated to partake in crafting activities, and secondly, that crafting can be easily accessed by children at all times and that they are provided with all the tools they need to get creative.
Retailers should therefore make sure that crafting products are prominent in store, within eyeshot and easy reach of the customer on the shelf and heavily promoted with eye-catching POS and window displays wherever possible.”
