'Director of parenting': The modern Chinese mother's new role

Noting the trends, Dentsu Network's consumer insight centre in China has set up a 'Mama Lab' in order to gain better understanding of today’s new modern moms. With 16 million newborns each year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the mainland ranks as the world's second largest consumer market for babies' and children's goods, after the United States. Dentsu's 'Mama Lab' has conducted a survey of more than 1,000 mothers in first- and second-tier cities for starters.

Marketers in China have often attempted to identify the differences between generations born in the past four decades. Young mothers born in the 1980s and 1990s grew up in 'developed China' with much more independent and self-centred personalities and wider worldviews. Such values are reflected even in their post-birth lives, said Helen Gu, strategic planner at Dentsu Network Greater China.

Nothing could be more appropriate than the term 'director of parenting' to describe today’s post-'80s and post-'90s mothers. "The word director also resonates with marketing and communication professionals who are used to titles like 'business director' or 'creative director', and this interpretation of modern Chinese mothers will be most relevant," Gu told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

Passionate about themselves

Mothers born in the 1980s and 1990s are modern, egoistic, and independent, according to the report. Rather than being limited to one role, they have revealed a determination to maintain a balance between their lifestyles, careers and children even after giving birth.

Results from a similar survey Dentsu conducted in the US showed that American mothers are surprisingly much less focused on sustaining their previous lifestyles and more willing to sacrifice their own careers after giving birth. (See below figure.)

Although parenting occupies time and energy, Chinese mothers are still participating in lifestyle pursuits they enjoyed before childbirth. Close to 40 per cent showed interest in cultivating themselves through study, and 35 per cent still intentionally use fashion and cosmetics to express their femininity. Dining out with friends at least once a week had much less priority after childbirth, but 16 per cent persist in such social activities and prefer to take their child out with them.

Please call me the 'director of parenting'

Although Chinese mothers today are seen as self-centred women who put themselves first even after childbirth, they do show responsibility in their parenting. They operate primarily as 'directors of parenting' who instruct on parenting methodology, hold power in parenting decisions, and delegate most actual parenting tasks to others for execution. According to Dentsu's research, 54 per cent surveyed have their parents helping out on a variety of tasks like housework, changing diapers and feeding milk; only 17 per cent carry out tasks by themselves. (See below figure.)

Some of these ‘directors of parenting’ even draft a daily timed plan for the execution of tasks, and also perform daily checks to ensure that all tasks are properly completed by the child’s grandparents.

Power moms

Another interesting point in Dentsu's research is how 76 per cent think their status and power in the family have been enhanced after delivery, regardless of the baby being a girl or a boy. Close to 90 per cent dominate purchasing decisions for baby-related products such as diapers and milk powder. Even the selection of other seemingly unrelated products is heavily influenced by Chinese mothers, using their new baby as an excuse to purchase anything from small home appliances worth a few hundred RMB to cars costing hundreds of thousands.

Given China's pollution levels, it is no surprise that air purifiers became a must-buy item for almost every mother surveyed, since they are seen as an easy way to provide a better living environment. Additionally, 73 per cent who want to purchase a new washing machine would choose one with a drying function. The price of such a washing machine is around 5,000 to 10,000 RMB, which is two to three times the price of a standard washing machine in China. These eye-catching figures showed that the new generation of Chinese mothers is clearly willing to spend money on high-end products to elevate their babies’ quality of life. (See below figure.)