Children are exposed to commercials all year, but around the December holidays the barrage of television advertising intensifies and children become extra vulnerable to the pressure. Children watch an average of 24 hours of television a week. Children's programming on commercial television devotes up to 12 hours to advertising. On average, children will see 576 or more commercials each week.
Most of today's commercials are well-designed, carefully tested, and slickly produced. They're often more appealing to children than the programs they sponsor. What can parents do? From the moment your kids begin watching television, talk with them about the purpose and techniques of television advertising: Help young children make the distinction between the purpose of an ad (to sell) and the purpose of a program (to entertain or teach). Explain that the people who made the commercials are trying very hard to sell something. Even three- and four-year-olds can have fun guessing what the ad is trying to sell.
As children get a little older, talk with them about the feelings, or state of mind, each ad tries to evoke. "The people who made this ad want you to think that these sneakers will make you play basketball like Michael Jordan. Do you think a pair of shoes can do that?" Make a game out of guessing the underlying messages of the commercials.
Several organizations are working to control advertising on television. The Children's Television Act of 1990 limited advertising on children's programs to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. This bill was passed because of lobbying on the part of children's advocacy organizations and parents. And don't minimize the importance of expressing your concern directly to advertisers. They are far more likely to listen -- and respond -- than networks or television stations. Many have websites that make this kind of communication easy.