Canada Marketing to Parents – Spotlight on Gen Alpha – Consumer Report 2025
Among parents of Gen Alphas (aged 0-14 in 2025), 35% are dolphins and 22% are pandas – while just 10% are tigers.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- What consumers want & why
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
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TARGET MARKET OVERVIEW
- Parents and Gen Alpha by the numbers
- The number of 0-14 year olds is rising…
- Graph 1: population aged 0-14, 2000-24
- …but children are declining as a share of the population
- Graph 2: 0-14 year olds as a share of the total population, 1990-2024
- That decline is directly related to trends in birth rates
- Graph 3: share of couples who have children at home, 1981-2021
- Strategies need to account for declining share but increasing numbers
- Market context
- Parents are getting older
- Parents are more optimistic about their finances
- Graph 4: financial situations among 25-54 year olds, 2025
- Older parents with fewer kids present some opportunities
- Parents have larger homes, but spend more of their money on them
- Graph 5: size and type of home, by parental status, 2024
- Graph 6: spend 41% or more of net income on mortgage/rent, by parental status, 2024
- Family homes aren’t as relaxing as others, but they’re happy and fun
- Graph 7: descriptions of the home, by parental status, 2025
- Canada wants to reduce daycare costs for parents
- Artificial intelligence could be a generation-shaping innovation
- How schools deal with AI will have a ripple effect on Gen Alpha as young adults
- Looking ahead: how the pandemic may shape this generation
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Consumer fast facts (continued)
- Parenting styles
- An overview of parenting styles
- Modern parents want to guide their kids with flexibility
- Graph 8: parenting style (respondents could select up to two), 2025
- Dolphin parenting is authoritative – not authoritarian
- Dolphin parenting outranks panda in older households
- Graph 9: parenting style (respondents could select up to two), by age of children, 2025
- Dolphin parenting is about balance
- Sleepaway camps are one way dolphin parents can build independence safely
- How dolphin (and panda) parenting will affect Gen Alpha
- Newer Canadians are less dolphins, more helicopters, tigers and snowplows
- Graph 10: parenting style (respondents could select up to two), newer vs established Canadians, 2025
- Dads are more likely than moms to take a hands-off approach
- Graph 11: parenting style (respondents could select up to two) – free-range, men vs women, 2025
- There are many approaches to parenting, marketers should focus on the most common themes
- Gen Alpha’s device ownership
- Most Gen Alphas have their own tech devices
- Graph 12: devices owned by children* aged 0-14, 2025
- Half of Gen Alphas own multiple devices
- Graph 13: number of devices owned by children* aged 0-14 (repertoire), by aged of children, 2025
- Graph 14: number of devices owned by children* aged 0-14 (repertoire), 2025
- Tablet ownership is relatively consistent, other devices – particularly smartphones – correlate with age
- Graph 15: devices owned by children* aged 0-14, by age of children in household, 2025
- Free-range parents are the most likely to give their kids smartphones
- Graph 16: devices owned by children* aged 0-14, by parenting style, 2025
- According to parents, tablets and smartphones are not interchangeable
- Kids with personal computers likely own a number of other devices
- Graph 17: devices owned by children* aged 0-14, overall vs owners* of a personal computer/laptop, 2025
- How device ownership will affect Gen Alpha moving forward
- Parents’ concerns about Gen Alpha’s mental and physical health
- Parents have similar views of physical and mental health
- Graph 18: worry about mental health of children aged 0-14, 2025
- Graph 19: worry about physical health of children aged 0-14, 2025
- There’s a clear connection between physical and mental health concerns
- Younger parents are more worried about their kids’ health
- Graph 20: worried (NET) about health of children aged 0-14, by age of children in household, 2025
- Graph 21: worried (NET) about health of children aged 0-14, by generation, 2025
- Explaining Gen Z’s worries
- Tablet parents are less worried than smartphone parents
- Graph 22: worry about physical health of children aged 0-14, by children’s device ownership, 2025
- Graph 23: worry about mental health of children aged 0-14, by children’s device ownership, 2025
- Parents aren’t overly worried, but there’s an opportunity to make them feel better about their kids’ health
- Threats to Gen Alpha’s physical health
- Parents worry about what their kids are eating
- Graph 24: biggest risks/threats to the physical health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three), 2025
- Parents want to be in control
- Graph 25: biggest risks/threats to the physical health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three), 2025
- Natural/organic food is a budget issue for parents
- Compliments offers budget-friendly natural products
- Inactivity among kids is a risk to their physical health
- Graph 26: biggest risks/threats to the physical health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three) – sedentary lifestyle/inactivity, by age of children in household, 2025
- Parents of gamers are more worried than average
- Graph 27: biggest risks/threats to the physical health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three) – sedentary lifestyle/inactivity, by video game frequency and ownership, 2025
- Nintendo Switch’s immersive tech creates potential for active gaming
- Make it fun for gamer kids to get out of the house
- Parents of younger children are more worried about external factors
- Graph 28: biggest risks/threats to the physical health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three), by age of children in household, 2025
- Air purifiers give parents control over air quality
- Food brands get the most attention from health-focused parents
- Threats to Gen Alpha’s mental health
- Threats to mental health are both new and old
- Graph 29: biggest risks/threats to the mental health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three), 2025
- Parents worry about how their Gen Alpha kids interact with friends online
- Graph 30: biggest risks/threats to the mental health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three) – social media, by age of children,2025
- Parents will appreciate ways to get their kids out playing with other kids
- Parents of frequent gamers are the most concerned about gaming
- Graph 31: biggest risks/threats to the mental health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three) – too much time playing video games, by video game frequency of children aged 0-14, 2025
- Promoting alternatives to video game time will resonate with parents
- Video game concerns correlate with inactivity concerns
- Graph 32: biggest risks/threats to the mental health of children aged 0-14 (respondents could select up to three) – too much time play video games, overall vs sedentary lifestyle/inactivity as a top risk to physical health, 2025
- The pandemic isn’t a major concern for Gen Alpha parents
- Parents have a number of worries, and social media is just one of them
- Gen Alpha’s activities and frequency
- TV and YouTube are the most frequent activities for Gen Alpha
- Graph 33: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14, 2025
- Screen time is common in Gen Alpha homes, gaming less so
- Graph 34: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14 – content consumption/leisure, 2025
- YouTube and gaming correlates with older children
- Graph 35: everyday frequency of activities among children aged 0-14 – content consumption/leisure, by age of children in household, 2025
- Dolphin and panda parents appreciate books
- Graph 36: children aged 0-14 read books (incl parents reading aloud to children) every day, by parenting style, 2025
- Gen Alpha is already IMing with friends
- Graph 37: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14 -socializing, 2025
- Social media has become as common as in-person get-togethers
- Graph 38: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14, social media vs in-person, among parents of children aged 6-14, 2025
- Encourage parents to plan get-togethers for their kids
- Most Gen Alphas attend scheduled programs each week
- Graph 39: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14 – organized activities, 2025
- Kids aged 6-11 are the most committed to extracurricular activities
- Graph 40: frequency of activities among children aged 0-14 (weekly) – organized activities, by age of children in household, 2025
- The family vehicle is imperative to keeping on schedule
- Most parents get their kids to contribute to the household
- Graph 41: frequency of activities among children aged 6-14 -independence, 2025
- Chores are an example of ‘firm but flexible’ parenting
- Gen Alphas keep busy with both modern and traditional weekly activities
- Gen Alpha’s impact on household purchases
- Kids have a meaningful impact on food and clothing purchases
- Graph 42: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories, 2025
- Most parents get grocery store input from their Gen Alphas
- Graph 43: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – food & beverage, 2025
- Explaining why kids have more influence at breakfast than dinner
- Graph 44: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – breakfast and dinner, 2025
- Some kids have more impact on snack choices than others
- Graph 45: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – packaged snacks, by age of children and newer Canadian parents, 2025
- Collaborative snack choices among older kids
- Kids’ influence on clothing increases with age
- Graph 46: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – non-essential clothing and accessories, by age of children, 2025
- Graph 47: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – essential clothing (including shoes), by age of children, 2025
- Parents have input on older kids’ personal care purchases
- Graph 48: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – personal care, by age of children, 2025
- Parents want oversight over their older kids’ personal care products
- Kids have relatively little impact on family outings
- Graph 49: impact of children aged 0-14 on household purchase categories – family outings, 2025
- Travel and dining out can be expensive – and affect parents’ experience too
- Kids rarely have complete control, but do influence purchases
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COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
- Launch activity and innovation
- Fiber pops contain more fiber than sugar
- Chuck E Cheese launches STEAM-tastic Adventure
- Meta is making Instagram safer for teens to use
- Apple wants to ensure a safer online experience for young users
- Marketing and advertising
- Helping parents serve healthy, convenient food to their kids
- Clothing brands are getting parents in on the fun
- IKEA’s kid-friendly solutions are fun and helpful
- Opportunities
- Brands look to strike a balance between positivity and functionality
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- Consumer research methodology
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research questions: crosstabs
- Consumer research questions: crosstabs (continued)
- Consumer research questions: curated tables
- Consumer research questions: curated tables (continued)
- Consumer research: further analysis
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
Among parents of Gen Alphas (aged 0-14 in 2025), 35% are dolphins and 22% are pandas – while just 10% are tigers. While parenting approaches vary, today’s moms and dads skew to balanced, “firm but flexible” and “gentle guidance” paradigms with their children. The more extreme ends of the spectrum (like free-range and tiger parenting styles) are less common.
Brands want to fit their solutions within those parenting styles. Rather than being prescriptive or judgmental, brands are communicating in positive, supportive ways. Whether that means selling treats with less sugar or making arcades more educational, the strategy is to align with how parents want to raise their kids, rather than try to convince them they’re doing it the wrong way.
There are market-level challenges for Gen Alphas. While the overall population is growing, parents and kids make up a smaller share of Canada than they have in the past. That will make it more difficult for companies to prioritize these consumers when there are so many other groups to target.
Despite that challenge, however, there are opportunities for brands that can give parents the control they want. Whether that’s control over their kids’ diets, physical activity or screen time, moms and dads will gravitate to brands that empower them to implement their own parenting style.
This report looks at the following areas:
- An overview of today’s parents and Gen Alpha – including population size, finances and characteristics of the home
- A look at modern parenting styles and how Gen Alpha is being raised
- Parents’ views on the physical and mental health of their children, as well as the top concerns they have about their kids’ health
- A closer look at how Gen Alpha spends their time on a daily or weekly basis
- Assessing Gen Alpha’s impact on family household purchase decisions
- Reviewing examples of how brands are connecting with the modern parent
As attention shifts to Gen Alpha, it’s important to understand how their parents are raising them and what will make this generation different than past cohorts.
Scott Stewart, Associate Director, Lifestyles & Retail
Market Definitions
Unless otherwise noted, the term “parents” in this Report refers to parents of children aged 0-14 in the household.
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