Children's well-being is being damaged because childhood has become too commercial, according to the majority of adults in a new survey. They agree that children are being subjected to pressure to achieve, behave and even consume like adults at an ever earlier age.
The Children's Society poll found that 89 per cent of respondents felt that children nowadays are more materialistic than in past generations. Most are also concerned that children's self-esteem is being damaged by the media's negative coverage of them.
Commenting on the poll, which is part of an ongoing Good Childhood Inquiry, Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the Children's Society, says, 'A crucial question raised by the inquiry is whether childhood should be a space where developing minds are free from concentrated sales techniques.
'As adults we have to take responsibility for the current level of marketing to children. To accuse children of being materialistic in such a culture is a cop-out. Unless we question our own behaviour as a society, we risk creating a generation who are left unfulfilled through chasing unattainable lifestyles.'
Mental health link
Professor Philip Graham, emeritus professor of child psychiatry at the Institute of Child Health and an inquiry panel member, believes that commercial pressures may have harmful psychological effects on children. 'One factor that may be leading to rising mental health problems is the increasing degree to which children and young people are preoccupied with possessions, the latest in fashionable clothes and electronic equipment,' he says. 'Evidence from both the United States and the UK suggests that those most influenced by commercial pressures also show higher rates of mental health problems.'
Sally Gimson, campaigns manager at the National Family and Parenting Institute, raises concerns that pre-school children are regarded as the 'market of the future' and are being targeted by expensive and sophisticated marketing campaigns. She says, 'In our "Hard Sell, Soft Targets" report, 84 per cent of parents thought companies target children too much. They were concerned that children are bombarded by television adverts after school and at the weekends and concerned that the targeting was being done at a younger and younger age.
'We are concerned that children who are exposed to lots of television adverts become more discontented and spend less time with their friends.'
As well as adversely affecting children's wellbeing, commercialisation can also affect the relationship between parents and children, says Ms Gimson. 'It is very difficult for parents, especially those on low incomes, when they are bombarded by requests for material things that they can't afford. They often go without things so that they can buy expensive toys for the children. Parents tell us that they feel pestered and that it adds to family stress.'
Just say no
However, Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, agrees that we live in a more intrusive and digitised world full of commercial images but disagrees with the poll's concusion that it is affecting children's well-being. 'For those children who watch a lot of television, commercialisation becomes their reality because it is all that they see. The impact of this may not be desirable, but it is not going to create mental health problems,' he says.
'Children are obviously influenced by commercials, but it is the anxiety of adults and their own obsessions that are forced on to children and seen as damaging them.'
Professor Furedi stresses that parents have the freedom to say 'no' to young children, and to discuss advertising with them, explaining that adverts are not necessarily true and are designed to make items look very desirable with the aim of making money. 'Parents tell their children not to trust every person on the street. They also need to do this in relation to shopping and advertising, so they learn to question and be sceptical about claims. Explain that the possession of goods comes through effort - they do not grow on trees but are paid for by the money parents have worked for,' he says.
'What is seen as a problem that is affecting children's well-being can be turned into a challenge to make kids media-savvy, with the independence of mind to deal with things.' FURTHER INFORMATION
- To find out more about the Children's Society campaign and to contribute to the inquiry, go to www.hundredsand thousands.org.uk
CHILDHOOD LIFESTYLE POLL FINDINGS
- 89 per cent agree childhood is more materialistic
- 69 per cent agree violent video games make children more aggressive
- 90 per cent believe Christmas advertising puts pressure on parents to spend more than they can afford
- 60 per cent believe there should a Government ban on junk food advertising.
