Prometheus 6

The first is the rise in wealth for a segment of the population. "For them, money is not much of an object," she said. At the same time, upper-income parents have become focused on providing optimal educational and social experiences for their children. "There has been a cultural change to what's called 'intensive mothering,'" said England.

Added Sabrina Neeley, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio's Miami University, who has studied national data about how mothers make purchasing decisions: "So many times, price is used as a proxy for quality or status. They're going to feel like this is going to give their child an advantage."

A new twist on pay to play
Ex-Chicago teacher brings pricey playpen to San Francisco
By Jane Meredith Adams, Special to the Tribune
January 11, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO

Diapers: check. Nanny: check. Membership in an exclusive playground for the infant-to-5-year-old crowd: coming this month.

For a family fee of $2,000 a year, a baby in this terrifically expensive city soon will be able to skip the neighborhood sandbox, crawl right past the YMCA and join a posh 10,000-square-foot indoor kids' club that is designed to offer a premium experience of early childhood.

Slated to open in late January in Ghirardelli Square, Peekadoodle Kidsclub will be the first high-end children's club in San Francisco. It will offer a secure indoor play area, an organic cafe, a Wi-Fi computer station for parents, a kids' hair salon and boutique, and brain-building classes in music, cooking and fitness.

Peekadoodle follows the success of Kidville in New York City, which offers a birthday party package for $2,195 and a Little Maestro music class for infants for $695.

Price as proxy

Kidville, which hopes to franchise its brand nationally this year, increased its already-considerable chic factor when paparazzi photographed actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and their children leaving a Kidville last fall in Manhattan.

"We want to make life easier for moms," said Peekadoodle co-founder Kayla Lee, a former Chicagoan. "What we envision is one cohesive place that offers one-stop shopping."

Two cultural forces appear to be creating opportunities for clubs like Peekadoodle, said Paula England, professor of sociology at Stanford and co-author of "Unmarried Couples with Children."

The first is the rise in wealth for a segment of the population. "For them, money is not much of an object," she said. At the same time, upper-income parents have become focused on providing optimal educational and social experiences for their children. "There has been a cultural change to what's called 'intensive mothering,'" said England.

Added Sabrina Neeley, assistant professor of marketing at Ohio's Miami University, who has studied national data about how mothers make purchasing decisions: "So many times, price is used as a proxy for quality or status. They're going to feel like this is going to give their child an advantage."