Children and Baby Industry Social Media Benchmark Report
Find out how your brand stacks up against baby and children industry leaders.
Download the full children and baby industry benchmark report to see the latest averages, statistics, and key metrics across the industry. Use these findings to set clear goals, sharpen creative, and discover where you’re winning or have opportunities to grow.
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Key Takeaways: 2026 Children and Baby Industry Benchmark Report
- TikTok expands discovery. Views are up 11%, but engagement fell from 2.8% to 2.3%.
- Reels stand out on Instagram. Views rose 16%, and Reels continue to drive the strongest reach and engagement.
- YouTube delivers momentum. YouTube views are up 455% across On-Demand and Shorts.
Children and Baby Industry Benchmarks and Statistics
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What Top Children and Baby Brands Are Doing Differently
Top children and baby brands are blending nostalgia, humor, and bold creative to connect win ways that feel fresh and relevant.
American Girl leans into its history and thoughtfully shapes what’s new, balancing its heritage with a modern vision for the brand’s future. By embracing pop culture trends like Kpop Demon Hunters and leveraging UGC that celebrates millennial fans, the brand creates space for each generation.
What’s better than humor and reliability for a busy parent? Coterie expertly balances playful creative offering parenting tips, along with promotional content that leans into education and entertainment, so promotion feels natural and engaging, not forced.
Jellycat leans into product virality, teasing new releases, sharing cute, aspirational content, and using color to create a bold, unmissable feed. Its top-performing content encourages users to ‘dance’ with their content, treading new creative ground and piquing audience curiosity in the process.
How Have Children and Baby Benchmarks Changed Since Our Last Report?
From Steady Engagement To Expanding Reach
In 2025, TikTok engagement averaged 3.2% by views, with more consistent interaction across posts.
Engagement dipped to 2.3% by views, while overall reach and views have increased, signaling broader audience exposure.
What changed: Content is reaching more people, but holding attention and driving interaction is becoming more competitive.
From Consistent Performance To Breakout High Performers
Previously, top brands led with engagement around 6.2%, closer to the 3.2% industry average.
Now, top performers like American Girl reach 19.73% engagement, far exceeding the 2.3% average.
What changed: A smaller number of standout posts are driving a significant share of engagement.
From Play-Focused Content To Multi-Generational Content
Previously, content focused primarily on children and product interaction.
In our latest report, brands are creating more content that appeals to both kids and adults, combining nostalgia, trends, and education across platforms.
What changed: Expanding target audiences increases engagement potential and shareability.
What’s a Good Engagement Rate for Children and Baby Brands?
Baby and children brands should aim for an engagement rate between 5.0% and 5.5% on TikTok, and between 1.0% and 2.0% on Instagram.
What Types of Content Perform Best for Children and Baby Industry Brands?
Short-form video performs best for baby and children brands when it blends nostalgia, humor, and clear value.
On TikTok, cross-generational content drives engagement, with brands like American Girl outperforming benchmarks by leaning into nostalgia and trends, while Coterie stands out by mixing education with humor. On Instagram, bold, product-led creative like Jellycat’s outperform the industry, especially when paired with cultural relevance. On YouTube, quick, behind-the-scenes content performs best, with brands like Kyte Baby seeing significantly higher views from short, digestible videos.
How Our Children and Baby Industry Benchmarks Are Calculated
Dash Social pulled a sample of global companies across TikTok (n=1,361), Instagram (n=3,363), and YouTube (n=616) analyzing their activity between July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 to determine average performance against a predetermined set of KPIs. These benchmarks include organic, boosted and promoted content but exclude paid ads. They apply to handles with at least 1K followers, covering both customers and non-customers.
Download the Full Children and Baby Industry Report
Dash Social’s benchmark report takes you through the latest metrics behind discovery, viewership, and how leading brands stand out on social.
More Social Media Benchmarks By Industry
Social Media Benchmark FAQs
What’s the average follower growth rate for baby and children brands?
Growth varies by platform. TikTok leads with 3.8% average monthly follower growth. Instagram averages 0.6%, while YouTube averages 2.2%.
How often should baby and children brands post per week?
Posting frequency is moderate compared to other industries. TikTok averages 6 posts per week, Instagram averages 5 posts per week, and YouTube averages 4 videos per week.
What KPIs should baby and children companies track?
Baby and children brands should focus on engagement rate by views or reach, video views, shares, and entertainment score. These metrics better reflect content performance than follower-based engagement alone.