A few years ago I asked my nephew what he wanted for Christmas. He didn’t know. I asked him if he watched Saturday morning cartoons, because I remember when my kids were little that’s where they saw the toys they might like.
He told me there were no toy commercials, only food commercials. He was right. And the commercials bombarding our children promoted foods and beverages that were high in fat, sugar and salt.
Finally, consumer organizations world-wide will pitch a proposal to limit the amount of food marketing to kids. The group is calling for a ban of radio or television advertising of these foods between the hours of 6am and 9pm, and a ban on marketing the same kinds of unhealthy foods on social networks and other new media. Additionally, they are calling on a ban of promotion through toys and gifts and the use of celebrities and cartoon characters.
If you would like to hear about the new reality parents face, and actionable ideas, visit Parental Wisdom® and listen to our Park Bench® broadcast entitled Feeding Our Children to Death.
Tags: childhood obesity, junk food, marketing, media, parenting
At least your nephew was paying enough attention and not just passively absorbing the ads! Thanks for the post and the link to the Park Bench.
I have been keeping a blog on marketing to kids for a communications class i am taking at Ithaca College. I have come across so many different articles about the amount of food that is being marketed to kids, the majority of which are unhealthy. I think these different groups that are fighting these types of ads are so important!