Can You Buy Intelligence for Your Children? 50% of Hong Kong Parents Believe They Can

26 April 2005

Hong Kong

Whether queuing outside a reputable kindergarten overnight for an application form, writing to the school principal a year ahead to reserve a place for their child, sending them to extra curricular classes, or buying special formula milk, the bottom line is that parents want their children to grow up smart and clever! With the declining birth rate and the deferred age of getting married etc., there is no doubt that parents are determined to give their children the very best start in life, what ever the financial cost.

According to ACNielsen, the leading global market information company, in a survey recently conducted amongst adults with primary school children, 52 percent of parents were quite concerned about their children's IQ development and ranked it at least eight marks out of 10 in terms of importance. The level of concern was the highest among mothers (54%) and young parents aged 18 to 34 (62%). The IQ development of children aged seven and above was of particular concern to 50 percent of parents. (Table 1)

Table 1: Importance of Kids having Better IQ than Others - III

Parents see importance of children's IQ increases when the kids get older

Conducted in late March, the latest survey by ACNielsen Customised Research interviewed 278 adults with children in primary schools or below in Hong Kong.

Due to the high level of concern over their children’s IQ development, nearly half of parents admitted to purchasing products claiming to be able to make their children more clever. And in spite of products claiming to contain IQ enhancing features and ingredients usually being priced higher, it has not discouraged parents from buying them. The willingness to pay is higher among parents with an average household income of HK$15,000 or below.

“Parents may tighten their purse strings during economic downturns, but will remain generous when it comes to spending on their children; this will be even more prevalent now that we are seeing signs of economic recovery, ” commented Ms Helen Lok, Executive Director, ACNielsen Customised Research Hong Kong.

Besides IQ development, two-thirds of parents were concerned with the health of their children, followed by their children’s emotional stability, and their level of diligence at school work. These traits were perceived to be more important than their children’s manners and character building. (See Table 2)

Table 2: Factors Perceived to be More Important than IQ

Kids' "Health" is perceived by parents to be more important than IQ, followed by "stable emotion" and "hard working in study"

Base: Parents with kid in primary school or below:  278

“Early childhood is a very influential time for shaping one’s future and a child’s physical and mental health is crucial to a happy childhood,” added Ms Lok. “Added to the declining birth rate, parents today are paying greater attention to their likely “only” child to ensure they grow up smarter, which has given rise to a host of products targeting the ever-worried parents, be it a more powerful milk formula or IQ enhancing toys, music and books.”

Paradoxically, as much as parents are willing to buy products that claim to be IQ enhancing, only 1 in 10 actually believe in the claim! “Parents are putting more resources into their children and may be willing to “buy” intelligence, but they know very little about the effectiveness or actual impacts of the products they’re buying,” Ms Lok continued.

Among a diverse range of products designed for children, foodstuff (58%) and toys (52%) carrying an IQ enhancement label were the most popular. But in terms of importance of these products to their children, more than 52% of parents believe educational institutes offering IQ enhancement programmes are important, followed by reading materials and foodstuff (each at 51%). (Table 3)

Table 3: Importance of "IQ Enhancement" Claim When Purchasing Products/Services for Their Kids

"IQ Enhancement" is relatively more important when choosing food, book/education materials and education institutes for their kids

Base: Parents with kid in primary school or below

While some parents currently buy these products, their intention to buy in the future is not high (22%) which might be due partly to their lack of understanding of the products.

“Parents are willing to spend, but more consumer education about the value of the IQ enhancing products and their effectiveness is needed to build parents’ confidence,” Ms Lok concluded. “Buying from reliable suppliers might be a good start, but parents should also balance their emphasis on their children’s IQ development, with their physical and mental health and other personality traits which are all closely related to the total well being of a child.”

For more information, please visit www.acnielsen.com.hk.

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

ACNielsen is part of the VNU Marketing Information group. VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognised brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media measurement and information (Nielsen Media Research) and business information (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair). VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total revenues amounted to EUR 3.8 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam (ASE: VNU) stock exchange. For more information, please visit the VNU website at www.vnu.com.