And a particular kind of parent.

The designs are by a number of household names which may, or may not, be familiar to the average nine- or 10-year old. Still, they could well have heard of Oscar-tipped film star Kate Winslet who has come up with a storage box with a secret drawer or, even more likely, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe who has created a series of cubes that can be used as a spare bed. Miss Piggy's contribution is a mirror;

while the Moonbuzz light is designed by - no, not Buzz Lightyear - Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

But Christian Lacroix and Paco Rabanne? Sophie Dahl? Surely these are Very Important Products for somewhat bigger kids? According to Habitat, the brief given to the people they chose to design was to throw adulthood caution to the wind and start thinking like a kid - a kid, mind you, who could have whatever they wanted.

Prices vary, such as Euro50 for the Miss Piggy mirror, or Euro250 for the Winslet oak 'Secret Box'. Even the names of the products feed into children's imaginations - for example, 'storage boxes'. . . how boring? Why not call them 'Secret Boxes'. . . or 'Matryoshka' by Marcel Wanders?

Why not indeed? But who is Marcel Wanders?

Habitat says he's a "revolutionary design guru". The designer himself says: "In women, the world stores its most precious secrets and grows its most valuable treasures and future. I see motherhood in containers, giving birth to more containers."

A certain 13-year-old 'treasure' of this writer's acquaintance, if presented with a pile of empty boxes would undoubtedly respond with "Can I not just have the 95 quid instead?"

Kids, eh? You drag them round museums and art galleries, brave the searing heat on holiday to show them historic sights, drizzle their pizza with fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil, give up your free Saturday mornings ferrying them to extra-curricular classes in potholing/forensic science/or yak husbandry, try to instill in them, basically, a love for the finer things in life, while all they want to do is skulk around Bebo while eating a KFC.

The most sophisticated parent may not want to admit that their kid isn't all that interested in design. (Or designer names that aren't Nike or Adidas. ) But neither does any parent want to admit that they are that kind of parent. The sort that the average kid can spot a mile off. The astute kid in question is of the cool and calculating kind - and nearly always female. At my son's birthday party last summer, one of the 12-year-old guests delighted everyone with his considerable skill at the piano. After five hours solid of his continuous loop of the the Stranglers' 'Golden Brown', we were, despite our joy, forced to close the sitting room door firmly on him.

But an audience of one remained - an 11-year old who remained solemn-faced and silent throughout, nodding her head slowly in a not altogether appreciative manner.

When the boy eventually finished playing, rounding off with show-off frills and flourishes, he turned round, beaming at her in anticipation of the praise he felt was his due.

"Your parents must be r-e-a-l-l-y pushy, " she said coldly.