The report, conducted in May and June, is based on a DKC survey of 1,000 parents who had at least one child aged 8 to 14.
Known as Generation Alpha, this tech-savvy group of youngsters represents the only generation born fully in the 21st century—between 2010 and 2024—that has grown up online with cellphones, social media, news, consumer product websites, and artificial intelligence as part of daily life.
As for their source of income, the report indicates that 83 percent comes from $20-per-week median allowances from parents. More than 47 percent of those parents note that their children earn the money by doing household chores, performing odd jobs outside the household, or showing good behavior.
Gen Alpha parents also said 42 percent of all household spending is influenced by the opinions of their offspring. That percentage jumps to 49 percent in households with incomes of $100,000 or more.
International fashion consultant Amanda Jane Valentine, owner of AJ Valentine Consulting in New York City, told The Epoch Times that Gen Alpha has been “making waves” in fashion and other industries.
“They have a unique way of spending in the market and have deeper pockets from earlier generations because of the modern parenting styles encouraging early conversations around spending, saving, and independent decision-making—unlike any other generation,” she said.
When it comes to discovering interesting new products, 92 percent of parents said they leave that up to their Gen Alpha children. Food and entertainment choices are also often left to this group of precocious youngsters. This includes fast food, restaurants, music, travel, and sports.
As a result, 66 percent of parents reported trying new foods, while 52 percent made family travel plans to new locations. More than half of the parents surveyed also said they make it a habit to check online reviews before purchasing a product or service.
Valentine pointed to products such as Nutter Butter using TikTok to reach young consumers and Sephora marketing skin care to this emerging group of buyers.
“Sephora’s largest consumer is Gen Alpha,“ she said. ”They’ve uniquely targeted this younger generation through marketing, recognizing Gen Alpha has a larger sway over their parents’ decision-making and spending than ever before.”
Another outcome of following the lead of Gen Alpha is that 61 percent of parents are now making more online purchases, while 44 percent admit to being more reliant on digital money.
What’s really making a difference with this young generation is its eagerness to understand the basics of managing money, the report noted. Almost all parents—97 percent—said they are currently teaching or plan to teach their children about budgeting, and 37 percent have even discussed topics such as tariffs, trade, stock markets, or the global economy with them.
When it comes to social media, though, 77 percent of parents said their younger children are “screen addicts,” and 66 percent of parents know the online influencers and content creators that their children follow.
Among social media platforms, YouTube has experienced the biggest gain in parent/child attention, with a 78 percent increase. The remaining top five forms of social media are all types of video games, followed by Roblox, TikTok, and Minecraft.
While this generation is internet savvy, Valentine said, its members still possess a childlike wonder.
“This generation may be the youngest that has ever had companies truly considering what they want, rather than speaking directly to their parents,” she said.
Quynh Mai, founder of Qulture, a digital marketing firm based in New York City, told The Epoch Times that this generation’s constant connection to social media means that it is always “plugged into” news, trends, and shopping inspirations that often make members of Gen Alpha “go-to” resources for their households.
“Frankly, they have the time and the tools to be chronically online—and it shows,” she said. “Gen Alpha is digitally fluent, research-driven, and surprisingly resistant to traditional marketing.”
Mai noted that overwhelmed parents often turn to them for guidance simply because they don’t have time to sort through all of the options themselves.
“Today’s parents are juggling work, life, and often single-handedly running a household, so they lean on their kids for cultural and trend awareness in ways the previous generations didn’t,” Mai said.
In the long run, she said, the experience of getting these young people involved in household purchases and finance helps them to understand the value of money.
“Many follow financial influencers promoting ideas like FIRE [Financial Independence, Retire Early] and investment literacy,” she said. “This early exposure to economic reality is likely to make them one of the most financially aware generations yet.”
