Although advertising helps us draw attention to the products on the market, it also has its negative effects. Children today are also exposed to all kinds of advertising in various media such as television, print media and the internet. In fact, nowadays everyone everywhere is being bombarded with ads. Children are generally more vulnerable and easily influenced by advertising.

Children are defenceless

Children are innocent and not that mature. When a marketer advertises a product on TV, they don’t understand that it’s a business and that their main goal is to sell. They don’t understand that advertisers are trying to push their products and market in a way that kids want to buy. Children take everything at face value and undoubtedly believe the messages in advertising. Advertisements are made to attract the attention of children. Children do not understand it as a marketing strategy. Children are an extremely vulnerable target group and can easily be carried away.

Junk Food Ads and Children

Research has shown that junk food advertising has a strong impact on children, leading to increased demand for junk food from children. When children see ads showing young adults in good shape eating junk food, they assume it’s good for their health. They don’t know that junk food is bad for your health. They are unaware of the fact that junk food contains no nutritional value. They might even think that by eating these junk foods they could become like the slim and fit models in the ads.

A study conducted showed that children increased their consumption of junk food after seeing these advertisements. They seem so influenced by these ads that they almost doubled their consumption of these unhealthy snacks and foods.

In a study they conducted, they exposed children to candy advertisements. It was shown that the children exposed to the confectionery advertisements were strongly influenced. In fact, these children chose sweets instead of fruit as snacks. They preferred sweets to healthy food like fruit.

When the commercials were dropped and the kids saw them less, that had a positive effect. It encouraged her to pick the fruit over the candy.

Recent statistics show that obesity among children under the age of five is increasing sharply. Childhood obesity is on the rise and one of the main reasons behind it is considered to be the excessive consumption of fast food and junk food.

Not surprisingly, childhood diabetes is also on the rise.

This results in the nag factor

Children may harass their parents because of the advertised products. They may only insist on a specific pair of branded jeans and are up against the other brands of clothing in the business. They can also insist on living a life as portrayed in advertisements.

Children can overwhelm their parents with the products they see in advertisements. Sometimes they cry, pinch, pull and do not remain silent until the parents buy the product. Some parents who cannot control their children give in to the tantrums of children who have no choice.

When children see these advertisements, it leaves a false impression in their young minds and they begin to attach great importance to material pleasures.

What Parents Can Do

Nowadays, with so much openness and frankness in the media and advertising, parents often worry about what all of their children are seeing.

It has been found that children are often able to remember messages addressed to adults as well. Children remember the content of advertisements aimed at adults.

Some countries have banned marketing and advertising aimed at children under the age of 12. One country has banned toy advertising before 10 p.m. because at this time the children are usually awake.

Previously, advertisers marketed children’s products to parents. Parents were their target audience for these products. But these days, advertisers are targeting their messages directly to children. Advertising is specifically designed to attract the attention of children. The marketing messages are aimed directly at children.

Parents should teach their children to be critical of ads and to be less influenced by the messages in the ads. Parents must teach their children the importance and value of money.