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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Use of children in advertising

47 replies

stilldazed · 15/10/2018 11:55

AIBU to be horrified by the blatant use of children to advertise products that Instagram mums will profit from.

Mrs Meldrum is currently using her children to advertise a holiday company.

When will legislation come in to stop this, how is it acceptable?

OP posts:

AuntBeastie · 15/10/2018 12:01

There’s been a million trillion threads about this already. MN sometimes zaps them when they’re slagging off a specific individual instead of just generally discussing the ethics.

FWIW I don’t see how a paid Instagram post is any different to hiring children to appear in any ad.

Original poster

stilldazed · 15/10/2018 13:06

the difference being they're not consenting and being used to make money for their parents...not money to be put in a trust for when they are older...

OP posts:

AuntBeastie · 15/10/2018 15:47

How do you know? You have no idea whether the kids consent any more than any other kids who appear in adverts, and you have no idea whether their parents are putting money in a fund for them. You’re just making negative assumptions and treating them as facts.

chipsandpeas · 15/10/2018 19:05

its no worse than kids modelling for kids clothing, acting etc

Jakethekid · 15/10/2018 19:21

People just love to come down on vloggers/bloggers/instamums. Bored of it now. They're on holiday and their mum takes a few pictures a day.

None of us know what any of them do with the money they make from these things and even if it just went towards funding a mortgage/shopping etc why does it matter? It puts a roof above their heads and they aren't forcing their children to act or read a script.

What happened to women supporting women?

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 08:26

Women supporting children......

OP posts:

Jakethekid · 16/10/2018 08:32

So you have legitimate worries about the children do you?

TinyTwat · 16/10/2018 08:37

Women supporting women is such bollocks. I am not going to blindly support another woman just because she is a woman. Are we supposed to support women who choose FGM for their daughters? Support women who join the nazi party? Support women who facilitate men to abuse children?

I've no particular issue with kids being on their parents instagram advertising, only time will tell whether it is harmful to them &/or their relationships with their parents in the future. But women supporting women is a shit argument to use for anything.

Jakethekid · 16/10/2018 08:42

Yes because what I meant by that was women supporting other women committing crimes. Not just normal women trying to get through life doing no harm to the next woman.

A lot of women feel the need to bring down other women for no reason. We all have enough going on in our private lives. Why the need to judge and make other innocent women (and mens) life even harder?

Thisreallyisafarce · 16/10/2018 08:46

Children don't actually have to consent to everything. Their parents can make decisions for them, most of the time.

Fatasfook · 16/10/2018 08:48

You sound envious op

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 08:55

I am

OP posts:

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 08:56

I am envious of the life style, but not enough to risk my children's personal safety or mental health.

each to their own

OP posts:

juneisaprune · 16/10/2018 09:10

the difference being they're not consenting and being used to make money for their parents...not money to be put in a trust for when they are older...

My son is a child model. The money goes into his basic account, and then gets transferred into his ISA.

It can just as easily be transferred from his basic account, straight into my bank account.

How do you know what child model parents do with the money? I think a lot of us actually do use it for the kids fun or at least take an admin fee. Not everyone is interested in saving for their child. Which is fine, whatever floats their boat and all

Heismyopendoor · 16/10/2018 09:25

Free holiday and taking a few pictures/30 second videos a day. Sounds horrific.

Biancadelriosback · 16/10/2018 09:33

I was a child model for a well known high Street brand. I got free school uniform out of it and some free pretty dresses (or maybe I was paid in vouchers and my mum bought the stuff? No idea really). I loved it!

FlowThroughIt · 16/10/2018 09:41

As someone pointed out on another thread "Someone's kid has to be the model for babystuff." otherwise a lot of brands would go out of business. No one wants to see adults wearing and advertising Pampers for example...

longwayoff · 16/10/2018 10:02

I loathe parents who do this with their children, especially celeb parents who use their children in their publicity, stage mums living vicariously through their children and, my absolute pet hate, columnists who regularly plunder their childrens lives for amusing anecdotes at their expense. In short, parents who use their children as just another commodity.

Postino · 16/10/2018 10:13

Totally agree longwayoff

And obviously brands wouldn't go out of business - you don't need to see the product in action. Parents can't exactly stop buying nappies can they.

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 10:13

Heismyopendoor - we don't know the full implications. That is the really worrying thing, the effects of social media on young children is all one big experiment.

OP posts:

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 10:15

baby clothes and nappies are one this.
A holiday
Capri Sun (high sugar drink)
Braclets
pizzas
Just some of the things mrs meldrum has been using her children to advertise...

OP posts:

TheLadyhasarrived · 16/10/2018 10:19

I think using children to advertise is one thing, if you were taking them out of school to use them to advertise that’s another.

Jakethekid · 16/10/2018 10:53

She is a mum vlogger. Her whole career is based around being a mum and having a family. Just like lots and lots of other parents that are on social media platforms. Why have you specifically called out just one person? There are other people that do just this but more often and do not get the grief that Mrs meldrum gets.

I would hate to have random strangers on a website basically slagging myself and my parenting off. It's just a bit cruel and could possibly really affect someone's mental health.

Original poster

stilldazed · 16/10/2018 11:08

I would hate to have random strangers on a website basically slagging myself and my parenting off. It's just a bit cruel and could possibly really affect someone's mental health.

Which presumably is one of the reasons you're not a mummy vlogger/instagramer.

People who 'put themselves out there' I'm sure, would expect to get negative and well as positive feed back, and have a thick enough skin to be able to deal with it.

OP posts:

Postino · 16/10/2018 11:10

It's not inappropriate to question the use of children for something they have no control over. If anything, I'd rather there was more of that going on, not less.

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