As the heat subsided, a new school year began.
It's a season of anticipation and anxiety for parents. In order to provide the greatest help to their children, parents began to purchase learning materials, from study desks, electronic devices, small pencils, lunch boxes, etc., a long list, the need is a lot of money.
At the same time, some businesses have locked their eyes on these anxious parents, taking advantage of the mentality of "good for children" and "can't let children lose at the starting line", linking goods with "essential for the start of school", the practicality is not necessarily high, but the price is necessarily high.
Some people think that parents are paying an "IQ tax", but parents see it as an investment in education.
1. The demand is very wide, and the routine is also very wide
"No matter how hard you are, you can't suffer your children" is almost a common standard for parents, especially when it comes to their children's schooling. And with the development of the economy and the improvement of consumption level, more and more parents have begun to pay attention to quality and brand, which provides greater development space for the high-end and high-priced stationery market.
According to data from market research institutions, the size of China's stationery market reached 95.642 billion yuan in 2019, of which the high-end stationery market accounted for 15.8%. It is expected that by 2024, the proportion of the high-end stationery market will reach 24.6%. This shows that the growth trend of the high-end stationery market is obvious, and high-priced stationery will also develop.
In addition, according to the data released by some stationery brands, the sales of some high-end stationery brands in 2020 have increased compared with previous years, such as the sales of Delix Stationery's "Delis Stationery" brand increased by 60%, and the sales of high-priced stationery under the "Delis" brand also increased. This shows that in the context of the growing number of high-net-worth individuals, high-end stationery will become an important part of the stationery market.
Shanghai's cute mother, the child is in the beginning of kindergarten, it took two months, finally purchased all the school items that the child needs for kindergarten, the study table and eye protection lamp cost 8,000 yuan, the spine protection bag chose a cheaper but still needs more than 600, more than a thousand stationery of all kinds, more than 9,000 electronic equipment such as learning machines... As soon as the bill was calculated, it cost eighteen thousand.
Mengmeng's mother was also wavering and worried when purchasing, "Buy it, it costs so much money, and it is not necessarily useful." But then he thought, "Don't buy it, in case it works, doesn't it delay the child?" What if someone else's child has it, but your own child does not, and the child feels inferior? ”
Therefore, in the end, Mengmeng's mother still bought them all, and they were for children, so the priority was basically the first-tier brand.
"Willing to spend money" is not only a special case for young parents, but also for the older generation of parents who have been thrifty all their lives.
A few days ago, Lanlan's father came home from work and found that there was an extra set of tables and chairs at home, which was specially prepared by parents for his granddaughter's young age. When he asked the price of more than 10,000, he was shocked. You know, Lanlan's father is still in a third-tier city, and he has a desk for tens of dollars, which has been used since elementary school to marriage. Now, after a lifetime of thrift, his parents have spent 10,000 yuan to buy a set of tables and chairs for his granddaughter.
"Give the best possible to children" is the mentality of all parents, and for merchants, it is the best business opportunity.
Some businesses will use the so-called "high quality" and "cutting-edge technology" and other banners, marketing methods are varied, from instilling ideas to selling anxiety, and then promoting goods under the guise of sharing knowledge, those expensive items may not be worth the money.
For example, the study desk and chair bought by Lanlan's grandparents claims to have many functions, can correct the child's sitting posture, adjust the desktop angle according to different activities, and can also be raised and lowered according to the child's height, which can be used for more than ten years.
But Lan Lan Dad took a closer look at the table, the material is not much advanced, not logs, the hardware is slightly better than the general table and chair, as for the sitting posture correction function, it is temporarily not visible.
There are also cute mothers when buying pencils, erasers and other ordinary stationery, because they buy IP co-branded products that their children like, the price has basically doubled several times.
Parents are also well aware of the routines of businesses, but the reason for so willing to pay the "IQ tax" lies in the educational anxiety behind it.
2. How narrow the mind is, how high the IQ tax is
It cost 18,000 to buy a full set of school supplies, but Mengmeng's mother said: "No amount of things can seem to eliminate my worries and anxiety." Because her children only have two or three hundred literacy levels, and pinyin has only been occasionally contacted, belonging to the "naked" first grade. Although there are enough supplies, there is not enough knowledge, so the closer to the start of school, the more anxious she is.
Mengmeng's mother said that there are many anxious parents like her, and her mother group is in a state of explosion every day.
Therefore, the IQ tax that parents hand over to high-end stationery in the school season is ultimately to pay for the anxiety that cannot be suppressed.
The recent hit movie "School Dad", the opening scene is that parents squeeze to the school gate to get an admission number, and Lei Daliben, played by Huang Bo, is still slowly holding buns and soy milk while walking, but he was squeezed down by crazy parents and was finally forced to join this chicken and baby competition.
In the movie, school entry represents the starting point of a marathon of life, parents and children are on the field, and no one dares to stop and breathe, for fear that if they don't pay attention, they will fall behind.
As the line in the film says, the people watching the front row stood up, and the audience in the back row had to stand up. Educational anxiety sweeps through every parent and child.
From school district housing, interest classes, and then to international schools, the plot of three in and three out, can be described as a climax.
And the anxiety of parents in real life is more than that of the parents in the film.
Tao Tao's mother in Anhui Province said that compared with other mothers around her, her family's Taotao expenses are relatively restrained, mainly concentrated in two major projects, one is soft expenditure, such as some interest classes, the purpose is to learn to contact society and strangers in advance. The other is hard expenses, such as school supplies and clothes, as well as auxiliary tools such as learning machines, eye protection lamps, study desks and chairs, which are generally high-priced brands with environmental attributes in online shopping.
But even so, a child's expenses basically account for 1/3 of their family members' expenses, and they are actually within their means of how much they can spend on their children, and there is no budget cap.
Tao Tao's mother believes that in the hearts of most parents, as long as it is something that can make children progress and happy, even if they feel that "there is no need to spend money" and "not just need", but they will still buy it again, this is the heart of parents in the world.
3. The widest road is the love and companionship of parents
Parents want the best for their children, but they should also be rational while pursuing quality. Expensive does not equal good, what is suitable for children is the best. When preparing for the start of school, it is still necessary to avoid being deceived by gorgeous packaging and false publicity, and pay less "IQ tax":
· Clarify the purpose and needs of the purchase. Before purchasing school supplies, parents need to clarify the purpose and needs of the purchase, such as what school supplies the child needs, the purpose of purchase is to improve the child's learning efficiency, or to solve the child's learning problems.
· Compare different products. When purchasing school supplies, parents need to compare different products to understand the function, characteristics, quality, price and other aspects of the products, so as to choose the most suitable school supplies for their children.
· Focus on product safety. For some younger children, parents need to pay attention to the safety of school supplies, such as whether the materials of the products are environmentally friendly and the design is reasonable.
· Rational consumption. When parents buy school supplies, they need to consume rationally, do not blindly follow the trend or blindly pursue high-priced products, and do not buy unwanted items because of discounts or promotions.
· Cultivate children's learning ability and habits. Good habits are the best learning tools, parents need to pay attention to cultivating children's learning ability and habits, so that children can develop good learning habits and ways, so as to better use school supplies to improve learning efficiency.
There is indeed some necessary investment in a child's education, but not all of the costs can bring real improvement to the child. Because companionship and care are far more important than expensive items as children grow up.
Family education is an important part of cultivating the healthy growth of children, and should not be influenced by the business atmosphere.
Children's lives are also wilderness, and the meaning of education itself is not simply the accumulation of knowledge, but the development of mental ability, so it should not be wrapped up in anxiety.
For children, an advanced learning machine is far less effective than without parental encouragement, awakening and encouragement.
What's more, most parents' initial hope for their children is just the most simple "peace and health".
The film "Learning Dad" handed over a blank answer sheet for parents' educational anxiety. The meaning of this blank does not mean 0 points, but rather: each child's life can be written by himself, and there is no standard answer for it.
"Little carp don't have to jump over the dragon gate, because there are rivers, lakes and seas in the world."
There is no narrow road in life, every child has a wide path.