I have a four-year old son, and even at this early age, he already understands the joys of shopping. When we go to the mall or a store, he insists that he buy something (he doesn’t always win, but he definitely tries). He feels that he is entitled to buy anything he wants and I can imagine that this growing consumerism will only grow worse as he gets older.

And marketers know this. Marketers are trying to reach younger kids, getting them hooked early to their products and brands. USA Today had an interesting piece on how marketers are reaching out to the tweens market, particularly girls. Tweens, or those kids age 7-14, have significant influence on what their parents buy and by themselves already have spending power.

PRWeek magazine listed five facts on the tween market:

1. WonderGroup reports that kid influence on items bought for them is in the 80-90% range, with the highest influence on DVDs and music.
2. According to Alloy Media and Marketing, tweens independently spend $30 billion, and they influence an additional $600 billion of family spending.
3. Of the 26 million tweens in 2009, iGilliotResearch forecasts that 4 milion will be using their own cellphones, according to a previous Businessweek article
4. Yankelovich Youth Monitor reports that 72% of 6-to-8 year olds and 56% of 9-to-11 year olds ask their parents to buy thing they seee in TV commercials
5. According to McNeal and Kids Youth Marketing Consultants, children are able to recognize brands from the age of about 18 months.

If you are looking for a growing and increasingly significant market, consider the tweens market. Parents will resist, but children’s persistence can be amazing at times.