Many parents face the challenge of providing an optimum environment in which their children will thrive, seeking ways to discover, nurture and support their individual personalities and interests.
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Millennials, aged between 27 and 40, are now parents and raising their children in their own unique way. More than 90 per cent of millennials, or what was once called “the me me me generation”, prioritise their Gen Alpha offspring’s happiness over success, while 57 per cent believe schools are not adequately preparing their children to become citizens of the future, according to a study by Research World.
This seismic shift in parenting attitudes has a profound effect on family planning. Prudential’s second annual “Financial Wellbeing Tracker” noted similar findings. “We see that there are some significant changes in the mentality of this generation,” says Ivan Choi, Prudential’s chief customer and marketing officer. “In my generation, parents wanted their children to be doctors, bankers, engineers and lawyers, but we see a paradigm shift.”
The tracker assessed the financial outlook, aspirations and goals of Hong Kong residents, with an emphasis on parents raising Gen Alpha children (born between 2010 and 2024), who cited rising costs of education, well-being and intense competition among their top concerns. The survey found that 90 per cent of Gen Alpha parents believe that a non-conventional, interest-based approach to learning, whether academic or not, will benefit the overall development of their children, while 89 per cent expect advances in technology to provide their children with new career opportunities.
“We’re interested to see what the parents of Gen Alpha are thinking,” Choi says. “It’s important for us because we want to connect with them emotionally. We want to bring to life these shifting attitudes and play a role.”
As part of its efforts to equip the next generation for a brighter future, Prudential Hong Kong has launched PruNextGen, a value-added services platform operated in collaboration with leading educational and wellness institutes. The platform offers specially designed programmes, with an emphasis on creative thinking, financial literacy, communication skills and mental well-being.