It is the hope of the study to gain meaningful information from the Filipino children in selected municipalities and cities of Metro Manila, specifically on the power of the Filipino children as consumers, their buying habits, the major influencers in their buying decisions, and the effects of advertising in the purchase options. Several research techniques and approaches are utilized in assessing the children's consumer behavior: (1) observation technique (i.e., board game technique, shopping center behavior, taste tests); (2) focus group discussions; (3) picture drawing technique; (4) survey among parents; and (5) survey among children. Majority of the sampling techniques employed are culled from central location, stratification of respondents, and convenience (quota sampling). From the findings gathered, it has been found out that parents are surrogates for children in marketing research. For this particular research undertaking, the parents provided valuable information on the Filipino children, particularly on their economic behavior – spending, saving and receiving money; extent of children's influence on parental purchases; determining children's media habits; estimating product use by children; products purchased by children; the children's preferred stores; and the children's independent purchase visit. At the end of the research undertaking, it has come to the fore that the Filipino children represents a substantial segment of the consumer market in terms of their personal needs and this market is expected to grow in the coming years. From the different research methods employed, it was gathered that the judgment of the Filipino children are often based upon their experience with people and other social institutions. Using psychographics techniques in getting the inner attitudes of Filipino children in Metro Manila, it was known that the Filipino children buy products on the basis of their sensory judgments, not necessarily their thinking process. It is recommended that (1) manufacturers should be more responsive to the needs of the Filipino children's market; (2) advertising and other forms of marketing communications should focus on the family and their relational dynamics to attract more children; (3) big shopping malls and convenience stores should focus their marketing activities towards the children’s market; and (4) manufacturing and service companies must redirect their marketing research effort in the study of the more hidden personalities of the Filipino children in their future research undertakings.
