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 younger 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 your children 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.
