Advertising has a big impact on our lives whether we want it to or not. Even as adults, we tend to gravitate towards products that are more colorful or catch our attention. This is even more true for children. Advertising to children has been a very controversial issue. Kids are extremely influential and they want anything and everything that is presented to them in a way that is exciting or appealing to the senses.
Just look at the two cereals pictured above. They are both made by Kellogg's but one has much more nutritional value than the other. Mini-Wheats contains no sugar, while Froot Loops' sugar content is 41%. I can't speak for all kids but I know for a fact which one the 2 year old and 4 year old I babysit would choose while standing in the cereal aisle at Publix. Companies know who their audience is and they know exactly how to appeal to them. The bad thing is, while the companies are just trying to make money, they are really one of the reasons childhood obesity is so high. 15% of children ages 5-11 are obese. That number is obviously way too high. Advertising is not the only thing that is making kids overweight, but a change needs to be made as far as making children want things that are bad for their health. Disney recently made an announcement and said that they would only start showing advertisements that meet their nutritional requirements. This is a really big step forward. Kids watch a lot of TV these days and most of the advertisements they see are going to be on TV. By changing these ads to healthy items, Disney is really going to help change kids' eating habits who watch their channel, listen to their radio station, or visit their website.
Food isn't the only place where advertising is affecting kids. Commercials on TV and displays in stores of toys make children want things they don't need. Not only does advertising instill in them a craving for material items, it also makes them feel inferior if they can't have those items. We've all seen that one kid in the toy aisle that is having a meltdown because their parents won't buy them something. Parents need to teach their kids that they can't always have everything they want. It's a necessary quality to have, but it's not the easiest thing to teach when every commercial on Nickelodeon or Disney has 4 or 5 kids playing with the newest toy. I'm not going to act like my parents didn't spoil me as a child. They probably did. But I also got told "no" plenty. I knew that I couldn't have every single thing I wanted. These days, kids' "toys" are starting to include things like iPads, iPods, Wiis, etc. So, not only are kids' interests in these items growing from advertisements of cool games and apps, but their parents have to dish out a whole lot more money if they decide to buy an iPad instead of a Barbie doll like when we were kids.
Companies are never going to stop advertising. It's what they have to do to make money and that's completely understandable. However, they do need to change some of the ways in which they go about it. They need to be more honest with their ads. Also, as far as food items go, they should make healthier items that are directed towards children. Parents also need to start telling their kids "no" more. It's hard now because they are so innocent and cute and sweet but one day they will be adults, and let's face it- we all have met someone(most likely more than one) who had never been told "no" until they were out in the real world and they still expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. No one wants that to be their kid, so starting while they are young will benefit them in the long run. As adults, we should watch out for these advertising ploys and try not to let them pull us in and accomplish exactly what they want.
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