Tag Archives: education

by | Thursday, November 23, 2023 · 7:05 am

“Mom” to the rescue!

What do college students do when they are far from home and need some help – or even just a hug and a home-cooked meal?  Well, if your own mother can’t be there, the next best thing just might be a remote “concierge” mom-for-hire. Yes, there are now concierge services developed specifically to help college students.

Priced at $450 a year, plus delivery fees, concierge moms perform some of the duties a local mom might help with performing. Some of the tasks could be transportation, company at doctor’s visits, grocery shopping, legal help, apartment hunting, and even giving gifts.

Another Mom concierge service based in Boston charges a lot more – up to $10,000 for an academic year and caps the number of students at 30. The service began largely to help foreign students at boarding schools in Boston, but now has expanded to helping college students. Each student has access to as many as five “second moms” who can help with classes, tutoring, and more.

Another type of service is Daisy Bug Delivery in Tampa which accepts deliveries for students, and then hand delivers packages to the right place. Students ship everything from bedding, to minifridges, to laundry carts, furniture, and more. Since June, the service has worked with more than 250 students on shipments and deliveries.

Who will you call?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Has anyone had experiences with concierge services?
  2. Who wished they had this service?
  3. View website for Concierge Services: https://www.bostoncss.com/
  4. View website for Campus Concierge: https://campusconciergeservice.com/
  5. Divide students into teams.
  6. Have each team brainstorm a concierge-type of services.
  7. Define the target market, services, prices, and promotion for the service.

Source: Weiss, T. (19 September 2023). A mother’s love – a bargain at $450 per year, plus applicable fees. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Tuesday, April 11, 2023 · 7:31 am

New Foods for Toy Kitchens

The humble toy kitchen that kids play with has come a long way with the food selection. While many of us grew up with the old standard toy foods such as cereal, eggs, fruit, and juices, diets and food choices have changed dramatically in the last few years.

Adults (and their children) now dine on more global foods such as charcuterie boards, sushi, dim sum, tacos, tortillas, fish cakes, and more. So it makes sense that their kids want to cook those types of foods in their play kitchens. Children grow up in a connected world – they can use foods to experience different cultures as well.

For brands, it’s a great opportunity to market to the parents of tomorrow’s shoppers – the kids. Marketers need to respond to all types of new trends and things that interest the consumers. Food clearly reflects consumers wants at the time.

The toy foods also help get kids interested in trying new foods, plus learn about the culture of the food. For example, a child who likes to play with the sushi kit might become curious about Japan and its culture.

Toy designers have been careful in how they present cultural foods. For example,

labels for the taco set are written in English and Spanish. And there is opportunity to explore all sorts of cultural and geographic foods. Food definitely helps us learn about the world.

My favorite toy – the toy cappuccino machine.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the types of foods that students eat.
  2. Show the websites of toy food companies.
  3. Short video about a play cappuccino machine: https://youtu.be/zMtS6CFvmjo
  4. Melissa and Doug: https://www.melissaanddoug.com/products/fill-fold-taco-tortilla-set
  5. Learning Resources: https://www.learningresources.com/noodle-knockout-8482-fine-motor-game
  6. Maisonette: https://www.maisonette.com/product/charcuterie-basket?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=wp_g_conv_ff_pmax_all_play_0&utm_content=g_conv_ff_0_pmax_all_play_0_0_0&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2cWgBhDYARIsALggUhqN0W_GhU6Yc9mKLwlgmR7pKlu6drzy3SMphVufFwnAHwn-abC2zmQaAolGEALw_wcB
  7. Tender Leaf: https://www.tenderleaftoys.com/products/babyccino-maker
  8. Divide students into team. Have each team select a toy food group and prepare a marketing plan. Include sections on target market and promotional plans.

Source:  Morales, C. (3 March 2023). In the toy kitchen, tacos, lumpia and charcuterie are on the menu. New York Times.

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by | Friday, November 11, 2022 · 8:31 am

Are Apple Watches for Kids?

A quick poll: How many of you have an Apple Watch (or similar smart watch)? What age were you when you got the smart watch?

Now, how many of you think young children (under age 10) should also have a smart watch? Hmm…. Interesting.

Smart watches are now moving to younger children for activity tracking. And, Apple is now actively targeted families with young children for their Apple Watch, promoting the device as a way to reach and track their children. Offered as a simpler and cheaper watch – the Apple Watch SE includes a feature called “Family Setup.” This software allows parents to track children’s location, manage contacts, and limit notifications. (No iPhone is needed for the kids.)

But of course any technology intended for, or used by, children presents questions and concerns for its use. In particular, social media is seen as dangerous to young children as is the increase in amount of time spent viewing ‘screens’. However, smart watches have limited applications; no cameras or browsers so there are fewer games and opportunities for accessing adult content. Parents want connection, but don’t want children to have more screens or screen time. Starting at $249, the Apple Watch SE is cheaper than iPhones or other smart watches, but that is still a hefty price tag.

Where are your kids playing today?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What is their opinion about Apple Watches for young children?
  2. Show video about family setup with watch: https://youtu.be/Ga8hyrp2PkY
  3. Have any opinions changed after considering the video?
  4. Show Apple Watch website: https://www.apple.com/watch/
  5. Have students research other smart watches for children. They should develop a table to compare the watches, trackers, price, and functions.
  6. Garmin: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/kids-wearables-fitness-activity-trackers/
  7. Fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/products/trackers/ace3
  8. Divide students into teams. Have each team develop a description of the target market (families with young children) for the watch.
  9. Have each team develop a promotional plan for marketing the watch to families with children.

Sources:  Huang, K. and Chen, B. (1 September 2022). An Apple Watch for your 5-year-old? More parents say yes. New York Times.

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