PARENT MARKETING: THE PARENT TRAP.

More and more sections of the media are realising that targeting parents can be a lucrative business. Pippa Considine takes a look at some of the new arrivals.

Kids are serious cool. Pictures of Kate Winslet, Jamie Oliver or David Beckham pushing buggies have become the new paparazzi currency.

To many 21st-century parents it matters that their child gets the niftiest nappies and is seen dressed in D&G, not M&S.

With baby products worth more than pounds 2 billion, and children into their teens continuing to make a significant dent in the family budget, it's unsurprising that competition for the parental wallet is strong. It's also a naturally frenetic marketplace, with advertisers looking to reach wave upon wave of new parents in permanent launch mode.

A new baby doesn't just mean nappies and mashed carrot, graduating to smocked dresses and sensible lace-ups. Baby wipes didn't exist ten years ago. They now represent a pounds 136 million market. The organic phenomenon has changed the face of pre-packaged children's food and companies such as Organix or Hipp offer a reassuring alternative to roux sauces for a generation of busy working mothers, the same mothers who may succumb to an item of couture from children's ranges now on offer from the likes of Burberry and Dior.

Grown-up brands have also cottoned on to the pulling power of children. Cars, financial services, retailers, even mobile phone companies are targeting parents.

You only have to type 'baby' and 'advice' into your internet search engine to unearth a parallel universe of parent talk, much of it coming from branded sites: huggies.com, pampers.com or Tesco.com/babyandtoddlerclub.