Issue Date: December 12, 2004

Boy meets body wash

Parents traditionally have struggled to get their kids even to take a bath, but today's consumers-in-training are demanding, and getting, their own grooming lines. And why not? Tweens -- kids ages 9 to 12 -- represent up to 20% of the $550 billion in household spending shelled out by the nation's 8.7 million families in which they live, says Tim Coffey, co-author of "The Great Tween Buying Machine" (Dearborn Trade, $19.95).

Today's kids are savvier, agrees Eleanor Keare, president of two tween-friendly hair, bath and body product lines, Circle of Friends and growUp. "We keep in mind that kids need positive reinforcement about who they are, not who they're trying to be like." Among growUp's products: Loosen Up Ballerina Detangler and Hold Fast Gymnast Finishing Spray for girls, and for boys, Chill Out Hockey Leave-In Conditioner.

Are boys into scents? Yes and no. "A boy's biggest concern is smelling like his mother or sister," Keare says. "Instead, boys want to smell clean."

The OT OverTime grooming line (Pit Defense deodorant, Body Slam body wash) is one of the first created just for tween and teen guys. "It means boys won't have to just plain smell anymore," says president Karen Frank.

The next best thing to getting your own pony

Wanting a pony turns out to be more than a childhood dream: 41% of adults want one, too, according to a recent survey conducted for the American Quarter Horse Association. And 56% of those polled are interested in horseback riding. Good news: $30 gets you an AQHA horseback-riding starter kit, including a gift-box-sized model horse, a guidebook and a certificate for a free riding lesson good with hundreds of AQHA-approved trainers across the country (retail value: $90). Order online at 4ahorse.com or call 877-424-6773 (877-4AHORSE).

Contributing: Elizabeth McCall, Judy Mandell