Should Advertising to Children Be Allowed?

Should advertising targeted at children 12 or under be allowed, as is the case in some countries? Why or why not?

I find something very strange in the willingness of many parents to without complaint allow corporations to teach their children through advertising to be nice little consumers. For one thing, consumer values are to some great extent at odds with the values of being a free citizen. How can they call themselves "good parents" when they allow their children to be instilled with the values of a slave?

Does anyone actually believe that a child is a match for the sophisticated manipulations of advertisers?

Is there anything wrong with teaching a child -- as advertising often does -- to seek immediate gratification even of spiritual or psychological needs through material products?

ummm..... wow, you asked a bunch of questions there, lol. I'm basically going to say that i don't agree with advertising directed towards children. That's about it.

Sunstone said:

Should advertising targeted at children 12 or under be allowed, as is the case in some countries? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

Advertising shouldn't be allowed, period. It's psychological pollution. If I want to buy something, I can find it myself.

Sunstone said:

Should advertising targeted at children 12 or under be allowed, as is the case in some countries? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

Why shouldn't it be allowed? I don't believe the child makes the final decision as to whether or not that which is adertised is purchased or at least my children do not have the ability to make such a decision. They can look...but there's no guarantee that what they seek will be purchased.

Parents should be cautious when exposing their children to any type of commercial media, in my opinion. In moderation, I see no harm.

Sunstone said:

I find something very strange in the willingness of many parents to without complaint allow corporations to teach their children through advertising to be nice little consumers. For one thing, consumer values are to some great extent at odds with the values of being a free citizen. How can they call themselves "good parents" when they allow their children to be instilled with the values of a slave?

Click to expand...

Respectfully, we're all consumers and our children like it or not, will be too. We can't shield our kids from that which is EVERYWHERE.

We don't watch TV and we receive few ads through the mail. We listen to CDs moreso than radio but it matters not. My children are still QUITE aware of all the latest and greatest stuff out there. Why? Because society, collectively, is comprised of walking advertisements.

So, unless American society, collectively, is ready to do EVERYTHING in uniformity, abandoning all frills and individuality, we're stuck to make the best with what we're faced with, exercising caution and sensibility when exposing our children to any sort of media.

dawny0826 said:

Respectfully, we're all consumers and our children like it or not, will be too. We can't shield our kids from that which is EVERYWHERE.

We don't watch TV and we receive few ads through the mail. We listen to CDs moreso than radio but it matters not. My children are still QUITE aware of all the latest and greatest stuff out there. Why? Because society, collectively, is comprised of walking advertisements.

So, unless American society, collectively, is ready to do EVERYTHING in uniformity, abandoning all frills and individuality, we're stuck to make the best with what we're faced with, exercising caution and sensibility when exposing our children to any sort of media.

Click to expand...

So you don't think there's any point in working for a ban on advertising to children?

dawny0826 said:

Why shouldn't it be allowed? I don't believe the child makes the final decision as to whether or not that which is adertised is purchased or at least my children do not have the ability to make such a decision. They can look...but there's no guarantee that what they seek will be purchased.

Parents should be cautious when exposing their children to any type of commercial media, in my opinion. In moderation, I see no harm.

Click to expand...

Having been a nanny for a variety of families - some of whom shield their children from advertising and some who don't - I've come to the conclusion it causes children to be unhappy and makes life unnecessarily stressful for the whole family.

For example, one kid I looked after simply could not pass by a McDonalds without going inside. He'd throw tantrums about it in the back of the car. It's nothing to do with liking McDonalds food - when I relented he never ate half what he'd ordered. It's everything to do with his sincere belief that McDonalds is full of clowns and big cuddly stuffed characters and hundreds of smiling children having the best time of their lives.

In comparison, the kids I looked after who didn't watch TV (some of these families didn't even HAVE a TV) didn't notice McDonalds at all. They wanted to go to the park.

Whenever I see a kid having a tantrum in the grocery store and fighting with his mum or dad about some expensive plastic piece of junk, or some colorful plastic junk food, I know that family lets that kid watch TV. It's not about the junk at all. That screaming kid honestly believes that his parents want to prevent him from being happy and having lots of friends, like the kids on TV who have that piece of junk to play with. That's why he's screaming. Who wants to inflict that kind of suffering on their kids? Not me.

Sunstone said:

So you don't think there's any point in working for a ban on advertising to children?

Click to expand...

I explained my thoughts on this in my post. I don't think it would matter. Unless society, collectively changes, there's no point.

What's wrong with little Timmy learning how to deal with the pressures of advertising at a young age? Is there some magic switch that happens at 12 that allows Tim to understand? And if there is, do you think that age would need to be increased if he never experienced advertisement directed at him before then?

Also, how do you decide that a McDonald's commercial is aimed at a 10yr old or a 30 year old, or to families vs individuals, etc?

So, no, I think banning advertisement to kids is simply a delay of learning experiences, and it would be pretty impractical to implement to boot.

Parents should be responsible for a) limiting tv time, and b) saying "no" to their kid.

Falvlun said:

So, no, I think banning advertisement to kids is simply a delay of learning experiences, and it would be pretty impractical to implement to boot.

Parents should be responsible for a) limiting tv time, and b) saying "no" to their kid.

Click to expand...

I concur.

Falvlun said:

What's wrong with little Timmy learning how to deal with the pressures of advertising at a young age?

Click to expand...

So you think a six year old is as well equipped as a 12 year old to deal with the pressures of advertising? What book are you getting that out of?

Sunstone said:

So you think a six year old is as well equipped as a 12 year old to deal with the pressures of advertising? What book are you getting that out of?

Click to expand...

None. And which books are you using?

I am not saying that a 6 year old and a 12 year old are mentally equivalent.

I am saying that a 12 year is not the paradigm of self control. Why 12? Why not 15? Why not 10?

I am also saying that a 12 year old who was suddenly exposed to an onslaught of advertisement where none used to be, would have a lot harder time adjusting than the 12 year old who had already started to build up an immunity.

This is important, since after-all, 6 year olds tend not to have direct control of money, while a 12 year old will likely start making expenditure decisions himself, out of his allowance money, etc.

Alceste said:

Whenever I see a kid having a tantrum in the grocery store and fighting with his mum or dad about some expensive plastic piece of junk, or some colorful plastic junk food, I know that family lets that kid watch TV. It's not about the junk at all. That screaming kid honestly believes that his parents want to prevent him from being happy and having lots of friends, like the kids on TV who have that piece of junk to play with. That's why he's screaming. Who wants to inflict that kind of suffering on their kids? Not me.

Click to expand...

My jaw dropped when reading this. I respect your opinions, but seriously, how can you say with certainty that you KNOW what these families do and don't do in the privacy in their own home? And how can you KNOW with certainty that advertising has this extreme of an influence on children?

Surely, you understand that children will be children as well...children are naturally attracted to that which looks fun and exciting. Children need intellectual stimulation and at times toys and plastic junk provide that.

I tell my children "no" on most trips to the grocery store. And NO...they have NOT seen advertisements for crazy straws and plastic alphabet magnets.

If they react negatively, they're upset because they didn't get their way. Too bad, so sad. That's life.

Do you think maybe you're over analyzing the reactions of these kids?

Falvlun said:

None. And which books are you using?

I am not saying that a 6 year old and a 12 year old are mentally equivalent.

I am saying that a 12 year is not the paradigm of self control. Why 12? Why not 15? Why not 10?

I am also saying that a 12 year old who was suddenly exposed to an onslaught of advertisement where none used to be, would have a lot harder time adjusting than the 12 year old who had already started to build up an immunity.

This is important, since after-all, 6 year olds tend not to have direct control of money, while a 12 year old will likely start making expenditure decisions himself, out of his allowance money, etc.

Click to expand...

You don't "build up an immunity" to advertising, Favlun. It's brainwashing. It works just fine on grown-ups, but it works exceptionally well on early developing minds. The point of a ban on ads targeting children is that they have not yet developed the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

When you go out to buy the latest gadget, you KNOW you're buying a fantasy. You know that Axe isn't going to really make you irresistible to women. (Maybe you still want it though, because brainwashing doesn't concern itself with your rational mind). Children don't have that ability - if the TV tells them having a Barbie is going to make them happy, they believe it with their whole hearts.

Alceste said:

You don't "build up an immunity" to advertising, Favlun. It's brainwashing. It works just fine on grown-ups, but it works exceptionally well on early developing minds. The point of a ban on ads targeting children is that they have not yet developed the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Click to expand...

How exactly is advertisement immunity proof? I think I started building my immunity at 6 or 7 when my nerf gun didn't shoot as awesomely as the tv one did, or when I discovered that my Transformers were actually quite boring. You learn to distinguish fantasy from reality when you see the fantasy on one hand, and experience the actuality on the other, and compare the difference.

Alceste said:

When you go out to buy the latest gadget, you KNOW you're buying a fantasy. You know that Axe isn't going to really make you irresistible to women. (Maybe you still want it though, because brainwashing doesn't concern itself with your rational mind). Children don't have that ability - if the TV tells them having a Barbie is going to make them happy, they believe it with their whole hearts.

Click to expand...

I think you paint a picture with too broad a brush. Children learn by seeing, doing, exploring, discovering. Hiding them under a bush, in the name of protection, will only delay their ability to distinguish between fact and fiction, and leave them even more vulnerable to advertisment attack as adults.

dawny0826 said:

My jaw dropped when reading this. I respect your opinions, but seriously, how can you say with certainty that you KNOW what these families do and don't do in the privacy in their own home? And how can you KNOW with certainty that advertising has this extreme of an influence on children?

Click to expand...

Because I have seen children who are not exposed to advertising. They behave differently.

Surely, you understand that children will be children as well...children are naturally attracted to that which looks fun and exciting. Children need intellectual stimulation and at times toys and plastic junk provide that.

Click to expand...

"Surely you understand" that a plastic bit of junk in a colorful box doesn't look any more fun and exciting to a child than a grasshopper, a butterfly net or a handful of twigs.... unless they have been indoctrinated with the belief that colorful plastic things in boxes are fun and exciting. I have some serious concerns about the idea that something like Barbie provides what any sane person would consider "intellectual stimulation". All we ever did with ours was draw genitals on them and make them lie on top of each other. We could just as easily done that with a pair of rocks.

I tell my children "no" on most trips to the grocery store. And NO...they have NOT seen advertisements for crazy straws and plastic alphabet magnets.

Click to expand...

It's not so clear cut, though. The take-home message isn't always that this or that individual product is fun, it's that "For kids!!!!!" is fun, whatever the product happens to be. The main reason your kids ask you for "FOR KIDS!!!!" junk at the store - and you have to say "no" - is because they watch ads targeting children.

Do you think maybe you're over analyzing the reactions of these kids?

Click to expand...

heh - no, I don't. It's pretty obvious once you've seen it for yourself. Actually, experiencing it for yourself is even better. I haven't had cable TV since I was 17. Before that time, I used to shop compulsively, thinking that if I was feeling a little blue the best thing to snap me out of it was a trip to the mall. Before you start to suspect I'm projecting my own experience on others, what I mean by "shop compulsively" is "buy things I don't particularly want or need because of the expectation of an emotional pay-off". In other words, what I mean by "compulsive shopping" is what most North Americans just call "shopping".