Children and Family Decision-Making Process - Essay Example

Children and Family Decision-Making Process By of Institute Children and Family Decision-Making Process Part 1: Definition of Household The term household has been defined differently by differently. According to webster-merriam dictionary, the term is defined as “the people in a family or other group that are living together in one house.” From that definition, other derivatives can be made that also further define what a household is. Given the practicality of the present times, the people in a family may be father, mother and children (or a child). It may also mean single mother and children, or single father and children. In some cases, some households are only made up of husband and wife without children. Sometime a household is not related by blood or law, therefore it is not a family, but still a household. Such a situation fits the definition that a household can also be made up of people other than family, but who are living together in one house (Chambers, 2012, p. 45). According to the free dictionary, a household is defined through the prism of family and other non-relatives especially servants. Free dictionary also defines household through the prism of space and possessions owned by a family. It also adds that a household can also be seen as a person or group of people occupying any particular dwelling. From the definition of free dictionary, one gets it that a household has a dwelling place as a common denominator in all definitions (Chambers, 2012, p.57). The element of collectivism applies when there is more than a person. Given that households usually lead family as a social unit, both definitions apply largely within the scope of what a household means. Even so, another important factor that the dictionaries do not bring out clearly is how to define a household in the context of meals since a household is also a social unit. Where people live together but they do not share meals, that is everyone or every group within the wider group cooks separately, then there is more than a single household. That means that the definition of household goes beyond just sharing the living space to making joint meals. Scattered instances where couples or people living together make meals separately when they are not in good terms should not confuse the meaning. The “Modern Family” Definition Definition of modern family cannot be sufficiently addressed without referring to the traditional definition of family. Family is the basic social unit where people interact before coming out to meet other people. The traditional expectation of a family was that a family had parents and children. Traditional family was either nuclear or extended. Nuclear family is made of parents and children whereas extended family is a nuclear family that lives with other relatives. In the United States for instance, there is a common agreement that what makes a family are children (Chambers, 2012, p.73). Even so, when it comes to definition of modern family, there is a little complication given the technological and legal developments that impact the family. Innovation has allowed surrogate mothers, sperm donation and other ways of conception. The law on the other hand has recognized same sex marriage in some countries. Therefore, the definition of modern family may be seen to vary slightly from the traditional concept where parents of the opposite sex and children constituted a family. The modern definition recognizes both the traditional approach where parents are of the opposite sex as well as giving room for definition of parents to be persons of the same gender who have agreed to enter into a marriage. Same sex marriage has been opposed by mainstream religions such as Christianity and Muslim, but the state recognizes same sex marriage. Therefore, one can say that the definition of “modern family is a social unit made of persons of the same gender or opposite sex and children. Married couple are seen to constitute a family especially when children are in the picture. Modern family can also be defined as a single mother or father and children. The term “children” is commonly used although sometime there is just one child in a family. Like traditional family, modern family is a consumer in the economy. Modern families brought together constitute the consumers in any given market (Chambers, 2012, p. 123). Modern family can also be defined through the prism of modern realities. One can say that modern family is also a social unit of married couple and children who are living either together or separately. Unlike traditional family set up where career pursuits hardly set couple apart, modern families have to endure separation as some jobs render married people apart. They could be living miles away and only come together over the weekend. Such is the complex nature of modern family. Defining a modern family is such a big task (Dholakia, 2012, p. 51). Family Life Cycle Despite the fact that the definition of modern family has become quite complex, family life cycle has not changed at all. The only difference is that some families may not really go through all the stages of the cycle. The complexities seen in the definition of modern family explain the reason for that as shall be seen. Family life cycle is the stages of development of a family. Just like in human development that passes through certain stages of development, so is family. At the initial stage, one leaves home. This is a young adult who is still single. The individual begins to accept emotional and financial responsibility for oneself. The individual also develops intimate relationships with peers (Chambers, 2012, p. 115). The second stage involves starting of a family through marriage. The individual becomes committed to new system. The next stage is where the family now has young children. The parents play the role of child bearing. Parents have to adjust their finances to meet additional needs. Next is a family with adolescents. During this stage, the family has to face the difficulty of granting certain freedoms to children. Parents at this stage of family have to adjust their relationship with the child for purposes of the child’s development. Launching children and moving on is the next stage. Some children exit the family into adult relationships and marriages. Adjusting to include in-laws into the family is quite common. Finally, the last stage of families in later life is characterised by retirement, dealing with the possible loss of a spouse and other old age complexities. All families go through the above stages. Some may miss some intermediate stages especially if there were no children in the picture. Some families manage the stages fairly well while others face challenges especially where there is poor paternal leadership and irresponsibility (Chambers, 2012, p.137). Family Decision-Making Theory Family decision-making theory is a behaviour analysis model at family level when it comes to making decision. It assesses how various individuals in a family influence decision-making especially on what to buy. Family buying decisions are affected by factors such as life style, predisposition and class amongst others. Scholars observe that it is called family decision-making process, as it requires other family members to have a say on what the family intends to buy. Where there is a general agreement and effective communication, family decision-making process is a smooth process (Shoham and Dalakas, 2005, p.154). On the other hand, there can also be tension in family decision-making process when family members seem not to agree with proposals advanced by others on what to buy. Even so, a family that has family values is likely to navigate smoothly in the process of family decision-making. Some other factors that would also determine the decision path taken in a family decision making presence include children’s age and gender as shall be seen in the role of children in family decision-making process. Part 2: Children’s Changing Roles in the Family Decision-Making Process As seen in the previous paragraph, children play a crucial part in family decision-making process when it comes purchasing of household item. In order to understand the changing roles of children in family decision-making process, it is important to assess their old roles in family decision-making process. According to Martensen and Gronholdt (2008, p. 14), children’s influence on family decision-making process is determined by a number of factors. The authors point out that age and gender are the two strongest factors that play when it comes to decision influence by children on family consumer products. The authors considered a behavioural approach where they studied how children of different ages influence consumer decision in a household. Their findings pointed out that older children are more likely to influence family decision-making process for what consumer products to buy than young children. The authors note that older children are more persuasive than younger ones, therefore, they easily influence decisions (Ali & D.K., 2011, p. 21). This may be understood through the prism of cognitive development. Whereas young children would just cry or insist on what they want, the older ones learn to offer reasons for their preferences. That is because they can reason better than the younger ones, however weak their arguments may be. The authors also point out that between ages 3-11, many children just influence their parents’ decision-making on what to purchase simply by asking (Kumar, 2013, p. 38). With increase in age, children improve their negotiation and persuasion. Therefore, children’s role in family decision-making process was majorly a matter of asking or persuading parents on certain choices. On the role of gender in influencing family decision-making process, there is very little difference unless the consumer products in question are gender demarcated. For instance, girls would have a strong influence on what cosmetics to be bought whereas boys would strongly influence the buying of technical products such as electronics and vehicles. One should notice that the gender factor also almost overlaps with the product type as a factor affecting the ability of children to influence family decision-making process. Some authors argue that the changing role of children in family decision making is also evidenced between the parental influence on decision making. The author’s feel that the fact that wives have increasingly become influential in family decision making in the post 70s and 80s period, the new balance of power in the family has also affected children’s role in decision-making. With wives becoming more assertive, children can be seen to be slightly pushed to the periphery so that that they seem to influence what their mother had influenced in the bedroom. That way, a hidden model of influence can be seen to exist where in many cases, the father plays a small role in influencing family consumer behaviour (Evans et al., 2006, p. 127). Children’s role in influencing family decisions on what to buy is also currently being determined by the parents’ profession, income, family type, product type and the nature of family (single parent or both parents). In the Britain, France, Germany as well as in the U.S., there was a rise of single parent families in the later decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. Research by Polya (2012, p.3) on “Purchase Decision Making Process and Roles within the Family” observes that children have been seen as having pushed for more room for equality when it comes to consumer-purchasing decision. The author notes that one of the reasons for such a change is the fact that children have become increasingly knowledgeable about consumers products the family uses than in the past. Although Polya fails to mention the role of technology in such emerging changes, one may deduce that children in the current generation have access to the internet. It is highly likely that technology has contributed to this changing role as children can access the products they wish to have from online adverts (Dholakia, 2012, p. 82). By the time their parents bring up a proposal on family consumer, they have more information about the product and they have a decision. They are in a position to justify why they prefer one product to the other since they already have too much information. They may even surprise parents with reasons why certain expensive products should be slightly cheaper since their equally high quality substitutes are affordable. Despite the fact that many family consumer decisions are seen to be rational, sometimes there are instances of emotional decision-making (Chavda et al., 2005, p. 71). Some authors observe that in any family, decision makers can be influenced by their emotions. Close bonds forged within the family and emotions are seen as also acting as potential motivation for certain decisions. Probably, one of the most important things to consider is also how peer influence amongst children their counter-influence on family consumer decision. It may not be an emerging model, but is important to mention that children listen to what their friends say about certain products. To that extent, it may be seen that the family consumer behaviour has changed over time according to changing perceptions of children and their peers towards certain product (Chavda et al., 2005, p 69). Implication for Marketers Children’s changing roles in family decision-making is a huge implication for marketers. Marketing is usually designed in such a way as to appeal to a given segment. Marketers analyse a market segment in terms of age, gender, income distribution, cultural beliefs and the overall societal values. That way, marketers are able to come up with appealing designs and adverts aimed at persuading their target segments. For marketers, there is a huge implication in the sense that they cannot be able to tell the extent to which their advert and marketing promotions appeal to target market. As seen above, children’s role in influencing family consumer decisions depends on parents’ profession, income, family type, product type and the nature of family (single parent or both parents). Taking family type for instance, marketers in UK would be interested in knowing the population statistics so that their adverts can be relevant (Feltenstein, 2010, p. 96). Promotion of one product may have two faces. Since children in single parent family enjoy relatively more attention and love compared to other children, their single parents are usually inclined to listen to them. For instance, commercials that advertise food product being consumed on the table, marketers may have two commercials of mother and children, or mother, father and children (Tinson et al., 2008, p. 47). Children who love and identify with their fathers would most likely be intrigued with the advert that has the figure father on the table. They would think that the product is very good, or they will develop a liking for the product and insist that the family purchases it. Such is an example of emotional influence that marketers have to anticipate. Similarly, a child staying with a single mother is likely to find himself/herself inclined to an advert that depicts mother and child. Such adverts will be appealing to them. Therefore, marketers are struggling to ensure that their commercial personalities represent gender, contemporary fashion, cultural appeals, social class and family types in their adverts (Feltenstein, 2010, p. 84). It is a difficult thing that they have to struggle with in the name of staying updated with changing roles of children in family decision-making process. As seen, contemporary family differs a great deal from the traditional family. The fact that the way household is being constituted differs in the contemporary society has made the very definition to be redefined afresh. The most notable change in consumer behaviour is the manner in which children’s role in family consumer/purchase decision making has changed. Marketers are finding themselves at an increasingly trickier situation where their commercials have to be carefully designed to appeal to market segments that are further influenced by additional factors. Even so, family consumerism and decision-making process can be seen to have been influenced more by technology as a hidden massive factor. Bibliography Allin, P., 2007. ‘Measuring societal wellbeing.’ Economic & Labour Market Review vol 1, no 10, pp. 46–52, Available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/well- being/publications/previous-publications/index.html Ali, A., & D. K., 2011. “Children influence on parents buying decisions in Delhi (India)”. European. 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