Would you support a petition to the government to get ALL adverting aimed at under 12's banned?

[miljee]

Just a thought! It ties in with the post on here about disruptive, spoiled children and the effect it has on school discipline.

My thinking is it's all very well us smug, well financed, well supported (middle class!) mummies tutting at those 'nasty chavs' who can't say no to their children but I often wonder how much easier ALL of our lives would be if we could remove the source of so much 'pester power'? It would be so easy for an over-worked, unsupported single parent to relent to a pushy, clued up child to get some peace and get something (homework?) DONE! That DC knows full well what bribes are out there and will demand til they're delivered! (Like ALL our DCs try!).

Should we use MN Power in this way?!

YES!

gosh yes absolutely I would. absolutely.

not sure i agree that advertising works better on working class single mums but definitely agree that advertising aimed at children is heinous and should go.

YES WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!

No, sorry, I didn't mean it works better on working class mums- I didn't mean to be offensive! What I meant was how much easier would it be for a parent under pressure to be able to say no to a DC if that DC wasn't fully informed about all the goodies available out there.

Any other views out there?

I am not sure actually. DS watches TV and sees ads for things but doesn't get them. I think it is a good life lesson for children to learn that they can't have everything they see.

but it's not about that...of course ds can't have what he sees on adverts. but his headspace shouldn't be being filled with adverts in the first place...and i can limit the type and duration of tv watching but i can't limit posters for teenage mutant ninja turtles etc which tapped into him aged 2!

I would definitely support that, there is no need for young children to be bombarded with the idea of things that advertisers make them think they want.

What is it about then? If you don't want him to watch TMNT then don't let him. Where does advertising come into that?

I would sign it, I dont agree with advertising to young kids, they have their whole lives to be bombarded with adverts, dont approve of it when they are so small.

Yes, but it's not just TV, is it? There's 'educational websites',complete with their pop-ups, there's hoardings, there's comics and magazines, the newspapers etc.

A point will be made that things will cost far more if the advertising revenue dries up. My counter argument is who set up the economics of commercial TV, comics etc so that they RELY on this revenue? Could there not be a new, innovative business model that DOESN'T rely on advertising? We'd see whether the TV companies etc REALLY couldn't find a new way of presenting their programmes once we banned the advertising!

There's something so cynical about adverts aimed at people who are specifically targeted because they are too young to have formed any judgement thus are seem as 'fair game', a society that sees all its members as consumer units.

If you ban all kids' advertising then only the BBC will continue to make children's TV, educational programmes, children's magazines and childrens' websites. There will be no other choices.

Because the BBC will have no competition to keep it on its toes the standard of its childrens' content will drop.

Therefore I think banning all advertising in this area would be counter-productive and no government could ever support it.

No. It's a slippery slope of legislating against stupidity. If you don't advertise to children because then they want stuff, then what about inane sofa ads / credit cards (or anything else you care to name) - do you not advertise them because a minority of people will then be tempted to but stuff they can't afford and get themselves into severe debt?

They will see ads for stuff they can't have all of their lives. It is part of any parents job to teach them that reality.

that would be buy stuff

no

mine watch tv and when adverts for crap come on (most of it) I say "just look at how good they make Barbie's wings/elephant/shitting dog look. That will be RUBBISH and you would play with it for 10 mins"

so I am brainwashing them myself about evil crap masquerading (sp?) as something they want

and I am not and never will be a "smug, well financed, well supported (middle class!) mummy" so help me god

Yes, but think its mainly a problem for pre-school age.

No I wouldn't.

I firmly believe in freedom of speech, even if it is used to try and sell tat to my children. I have the power not to let them watch it (and don't let them watch ITV etc much for this reason) and I also have the power to say no and I do - it is good for them to know that there are many things in the world which they might think are nice but they can't have.

I don't think it's really about freedom of speech, as miljee said, it's about regarding children as consumers and how cynical that is. It says something about how we regard children. Of course parents have primary responsibilty for guiding and teaching their children but IMO advertising aimed at under-12s is all part of the downward slide towards ending childhood earlier and earlier.

artichokes, other than the BBC who else makes any substantial contribution to educational progs for young children?

Am pretty sure there is no advertising aimed at kids allowed in Sweden - I know that junk food advertising is def banned and they dont seem to be suffering any fall out.
Advertising is a commercial issue and IMO nothing whatsoever to do with freedom of speech.

www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/food_jan97.html

DD (5) said to me the other day "Mummy I will let you choose what to get me for my birthday because all the things on the television look nice and I can't tell which of them will really be nice or not"! Hurrah - the brainwashing is working!!

That said, Oliveoil - we do have the shitting Barbie dog!