Who's at fault? Parents, TV, Kellogs, Kids, Nickelodian?

[geist]

I'm sorry, but I'm going to be the dissenting opinion here. I think we are inundated with advertising. I think it's hard enough for adults to separate fact and fiction, let alone children. The other day I was in Target and heard two college guys having an animated conversation about which Axe body spray scent they should buy. Now, do these guys really think women are going to be irresistably drawn to them, like in the commercials?

I do educate my two girls about nutrition and we have had talks before about how advertisers make things look better on TV than it is in real life. We don't eat fast food, and try to eat healthily. An average breakfast for my children is granola with blueberries, or whole-grain oatmeal. But these commercials, with animated characters, and exciting toys at fast food places, do not make my job as a parent any easier.

So I am all for a ban on advertising on sugary foods during children's programming. ABC brought up the movie, SuperSize Me. There is a scene in the movie where young schoolchildren are shown portraits of past presidents, which they cannot identify. But all the children could recognize the drawing of Ronald McDonald. Our children are being sent the wrong message, which is why the number of obese adults in America are growing exponentially (pun intended). I saw a show on Discovery Channel last weekend which stated that at the current rate of growth of obesity in America, 100% of Americans would be obese within 100 years.

I think a ban like this would force big conglomerations to try to find ways to make their foods more nutritious, because it's all about the numbers (yes, I have worked in advertising too). After all, advertising is consumer-driven, and if we as consumers reject the hype, we can control what we are being offered in supermarkets and restaurants.

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

I disagree that they should enforce a ban. I think that the companies have every right to show their commercials when they want, and it's up to the parents to say weither or not they get it. We can't just go around banning everything that makes it difficult for adults to say no to their children - are we going to ban toys, playgrounds, other little friends who have things that your child wants? It's up to the parent to decide what they get for their child and what they don't and so I don't think that a ban on ads like that just because some parents can't say no to their child is acceptable.

 

[pontalba]

I disagree that they should enforce a ban. I think that the companies have every right to show their commercials when they want, and it's up to the parents to say weither or not they get it. We can't just go around banning everything that makes it difficult for adults to say no to their children - are we going to ban toys, playgrounds, other little friends who have things that your child wants? It's up to the parent to decide what they get for their child and what they don't and so I don't think that a ban on ads like that just because some parents can't say no to their child is acceptable.

Absolutely!
Discipline has become a dirty word that fetters the 'freedom of a child' to too many parents. I can only imagine how difficult it is in this time of media saturation, but if a child is trained up from infancy, it makes all the difference. They must be given parameters.

When I was a kid, and I went on about so and so had this that or the other, and why oh why couldn't I have it too, or why couldn't I go to such and such a place everybody else was going, or doing it, my mother had a pat response.....Just because everyone else jumps in the lake you don't have to follow.

Children are not taught to be non-conformists, or to be individualistic. They want to be like everyone else. There is no creativity in conformity. And without creativity, we are mush.

 

[ValkyrieRaven88]

My question is: Who is buying the cereal? Duh. The parents. It's the parents' fault, not Nickelodeon's. People should take responsibility for their own mistakes; this pointing fingers and various companies thing has got to stop.