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What a Kid Wants, What a Kid Needs
Making More Time for Family
By Kelly Burgess
"The advertising community is playing into the adolescent desire for independence and trying to make rudeness cool," says Taylor. "Some analyses suggest that the advertisers are trying to associate themselves with the kids by portraying kids as rebels and indicating that by breaking the rules they're being cool and hip. There's a real edginess to some of these ads that is making parents very uncomfortable."
A big problem with our children being bombarded by the media, says Taylor, is that they become unable to tell the difference between wanting something and needing something. In a phase of life that is already filled with differences of opinion between parents and kids, this can complicate matters a great deal.
"Advertisers are now aiming at children as young as 6 months old to try to instill brand loyalty," says Taylor. "And it's not just television. Ads are imbedded in everything children see: video games, food, clothing and virtually everything else they are in contact with."
Knowing that, it's probably no surprise that the same poll that showed kids want more time with family also showed that 80 percent of parents think their children are too materialistic. So what can a parent do to raise healthy, happy kids who are critical and understand the difference between wants and needs?
The best first step, says Taylor, is to turn off the TV for a while. She doesn't promote eliminating TV, because she thinks that's not realistic, but switching to only videos for a few days gives them – and you – a bit of shelter from the storm. However, she agrees with the many respected parenting experts who recommend that no child under age 6 should watch commercial television.