Radio Commentary
According
to a report by the Kaiser Family foundation, childhood obesity can be linked to
television viewing time —specifically to the 40,000 ads that children see
annually on TV.
Children
age eight and under are very vulnerable because they have trouble
distinguishing between ads and programs.
The majority of ads targeting children are for candy,
cereal, soda, and fast food. This provides parents with some easy ways to
counteract the effects of advertising:
·
On shopping trips, let
your child see that advertising claims are often exaggerated.
·
Toys that look big,
fast, and exciting on the screen may be disappointingly small, slow, and
unexciting close-up.
·
Tell your child that
the purpose of advertising is to sell products to as many viewers as possible.
·
Put advertising
disclaimers into words children understand: “partial assembly required” means
“You have to put it together before you can play with it.”
·
Teach your children
about nutrition. If the youngsters can read package labels, allow them to
choose a breakfast cereal from those where sugar is not one of the first
ingredients listed.
These steps
can all have an impact.
