Cartoon characters make children pester for junk food
Katy Morton
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Cartoon characters used in advertising are one of the main reasons for children's relentless nagging for unhealthy foods, claims a new study.
American researchers from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore interviewed more than 60 mothers of children aged three to five years old to examine whether they had experienced the ‘Nag Factor’, the tendency of children who are bombarded with marketers’ messages to unrelentingly request advertised items.
Mothers were questioned about the household environment, media use, eating, shopping patterns and requests from their children for advertised items. They were also asked how they coped with children’s nagging for advertised foods.
The findings indicated that while overall media use was not associated with nagging, a child’s familiarity with cartoon characters and logos used in advertising was.
Mothers also cited packaging, characters and advertising as the three main reasons that compelled their children to nag.
According to the authors of the study, there are three types of nagging - juvenile nagging, nagging to test boundaries and manipulative nagging, all of which increase with age.
When asked how they coped with children’s nagging, 36 per cent of mothers said they limited the amount of advertising their children were exposed to and 35 per cent said they explained to children the reasons behind buying certain products.
Other coping strategies included giving in to children’s demands, yelling, ignoring them, staying calm and consistent, and negotiating and setting rules.
Dina Borzekowski from the Bloomberg School's Department of Health, Behaviour and Society, one of the authors of the study, said, ‘To address childhood obesity, it may be necessary to limit the amount of food and beverage advertising shown on commercial television and other media, as this may lessen children’s nagging for unhealthy items.’
The study, ‘The Nag Factor, a mixed methodology study in the US of young children’s requests for advertised products’, is published in the Journal of Children and Media.
Mothers were questioned about the household environment, media use, eating, shopping patterns and requests from their children for advertised items. They were also asked how they coped with children’s nagging for advertised foods.
The findings indicated that while overall media use was not associated with nagging, a child’s familiarity with cartoon characters and logos used in advertising was.
Mothers also cited packaging, characters and advertising as the three main reasons that compelled their children to nag.
According to the authors of the study, there are three types of nagging - juvenile nagging, nagging to test boundaries and manipulative nagging, all of which increase with age.
When asked how they coped with children’s nagging, 36 per cent of mothers said they limited the amount of advertising their children were exposed to and 35 per cent said they explained to children the reasons behind buying certain products.
Other coping strategies included giving in to children’s demands, yelling, ignoring them, staying calm and consistent, and negotiating and setting rules.
Dina Borzekowski from the Bloomberg School's Department of Health, Behaviour and Society, one of the authors of the study, said, ‘To address childhood obesity, it may be necessary to limit the amount of food and beverage advertising shown on commercial television and other media, as this may lessen children’s nagging for unhealthy items.’
The study, ‘The Nag Factor, a mixed methodology study in the US of young children’s requests for advertised products’, is published in the Journal of Children and Media.
