Moms turn to Moms online for information.

New moms today are feeding their young children nearly identical foods for breakfast as moms did two decades ago. They are also drawing on how their moms fed them as kids to help guide meal preparations for their own young children. According to The NPD Group’s most recent report, Juvenile Products: Exploring the Booming Baby Business, most moms (with kids 0 to 5) are using more than one source to gather parenting and baby product information, with 74 percent of moms gathering information by word of mouth and via the Internet. Of these moms, 39 percent say word of mouth is the most trusted source of information, while only 18 percent consider the Internet as their most trusted source.

Generation X moms (ages 30 to 42) are more likely to gather information by word of mouth, while Generation Y moms (ages 18 to 29) are more likely to blog/chat with other moms. Of all moms (with kids 0 to 5) surveyed, 67 percent research product information online, making this the most popular child-related Internet activity moms engage in, followed by shopping and looking for parenting tips.

The study, which fills the information gap that exists in the juvenile products market, provides an overview of shopping behaviors such as specific occasions and retailers chosen for select categories, the average amount spent on juvenile gifts, licenses, characters, and themes featured on juvenile products for the nursery, stores used for registries, and much more.

According to the report, birthdays are the number one gift giving occasion for children 2 years of age and younger, with 77 percent of gift givers usually buying for a birthday, followed by new baby gifts (including baby showers) at 68 percent and holidays at 60 percent.

“Since 4 million children are born each year, the 0-2 age group represents 12 million children that parents, grandparents, and others are purchasing for. And they’re spending a good deal of money, and often,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Any retailer or manufacturer that sells to the juvenile market will find the information in this report invaluable to their myriad business decisions.”

For more information at http://www.npd.com