I hope this helps the child obesity issues.

[wombat2u2004]

Hmmmmm....Catlady, you are right, and you have certainly made some good points.
But I think you underestimate the power of advertising. Sure....you go buy a magazine for $4.50 and half of it is ads, and you don't bother to even read them (but still you have paid for them).....but some people do read them, and that is the reason why they are there. For sales !!!! Plain and simple.
Advertising is an art, and a very very effective one at that......it targets those groups of people where sales are made.....so it's not simply a picture of a duck on the back of a corn flakes box......uh uh.....it goes so much further than that.
You can't blame parents for everything. There are experts out there who devise ways of shoving a product down kids throats on a daily basis.
I believe that most parents are responsible people, and we certainly are told by media and everyone else around that we should be responsible.
How about enforcing the manufacturers and advertising agencies to be responsible ????
I think it's a very good idea that some govt body expects this on behalf of the public.
As Catty said before......if it helps....then lets just do it !!!!
Wom

[Catlady711]

Hmmmmm....Catlady, you are right, and you have certainly made some good points.
But I think you underestimate the power of advertising. Sure....you go buy a magazine for $4.50 and half of it is ads, and you don't bother to even read them (but still you have paid for them).....but some people do read them, and that is the reason why they are there. For sales !!!! Plain and simple.
Advertising is an art, and a very very effective one at that......it targets those groups of people where sales are made.....so it's not simply a picture of a duck on the back of a corn flakes box......uh uh.....it goes so much further than that.
You can't blame parents for everything. There are experts out there who devise ways of shoving a product down kids throats on a daily basis.
I believe that most parents are responsible people, and we certainly are told by media and everyone else around that we should be responsible.
How about enforcing the manufacturers and advertising agencies to be responsible ????
I think it's a very good idea that some govt body expects this on behalf of the public.
As Catty said before......if it helps....then lets just do it !!!!
Wom

I still stick with the theory that it's the parents that raise the kids, not the government, or the advertisers. And while it's nice to blame 'someone' for our problems, it's never easy to point the fingers in our OWN direction. Whether that means limiting the amount of time kids spend watching tv, being on the cpu, or monitoring the food/excersize; I think it's still up to the parents to control the kids and say NO, not the other way around, and I think it's the parents job to raise/train the kids not the government. We start giving the government too much control over raising our kids, and we'll soon find we've given up ALL power to raise our kids.

We're already seeing some of the consequences in our schools/neighborhoods of people that have delegated their childrearing powers by allowing the store clerks to baby sit our kids while we shop, for letting the teachers in the schools take all the blame for how our kids misbehave during school (course we take all the credit when they behave well) etc.

Parents may not be 100% to blame for every single thing a kid does wrong, but I'd wager they are to blame for about 97% of it whether they want to admit it or not.

While this may not be a popular opinion with many people, it's my opinion and I'll stand beside it 100%.

[wombat2u2004]

I still stick with the theory that it's the parents that raise the kids, not the government, or the advertisers. And while it's nice to blame 'someone' for our problems, it's never easy to point the fingers in our OWN direction. Whether that means limiting the amount of time kids spend watching tv, being on the cpu, or monitoring the food/excersize; I think it's still up to the parents to control the kids and say NO, not the other way around, and I think it's the parents job to raise/train the kids not the government. We start giving the government too much control over raising our kids, and we'll soon find we've given up ALL power to raise our kids.

We're already seeing some of the consequences in our schools/neighborhoods of people that have delegated their childrearing powers by allowing the store clerks to baby sit our kids while we shop, for letting the teachers in the schools take all the blame for how our kids misbehave during school (course we take all the credit when they behave well) etc.

Parents may not be 100% to blame for every single thing a kid does wrong, but I'd wager they are to blame for about 97% of it whether they want to admit it or not.

While this may not be a popular opinion with many people, it's my opinion and I'll stand beside it 100%.

Parents are to blame huh ????
You should get a job with an advertising company, maybe they will greet you with open arms.
Perhaps maybe you could get a soapbox set up down and the park and preach to people about the advantages of one parent stays home to nurture the children properly (never mind about about food....sorry honey, we can't afford it this week !!!)
You my dear, are living in the past !!!!!
Perhaps you should be considering the problems of this day and age....the mass advertising, the cheaper imports, the peer pressure on children in schools to have the latest Ipod (and if you don't have it, you're not cool), the fact that parents have to both work to support a family adequately.
Gone are the days when mom stayed at home and gave the kids cookies and milk after school.....finito old mate !!!!! Times have changed, advertising and sales have become smarter and smarter, they get into your home no matter WHAT you do !!!!!! On TV, on the computer, on magazines, on the voices of peers, newspapers, on every product that comes in your door.
No, you cannot blame people 97%, that is a crazy opinion. Even with the pressures on people in this day and age, most parents are doing absolutely the best they can. And in MY opinion, we should be doing something about the external influences.
Wom

[Catlady711]

I don't go to the mat on too many issues, but this one requires it of me.

Parents are to blame huh ????
You should get a job with an advertising company, maybe they will greet you with open arms.
Perhaps maybe you could get a soapbox set up down and the park

I'd also get a megaphone if I thought people could hear me over their cell phones and Ipods stuck in their ears.

Advertising companys wouldn't want me, I think they waste ALOT of money trying to get kids to run their parents and con the rest of the world into thinking they care. They're like politicians only they have a snappy jingle.

preach to people about the advantages of one parent stays home to nurture the children properly (never mind about about food....sorry honey, we can't afford it this week !!!)
You my dear, are living in the past !!!!!

I was raised by a SINGLE MOM who worked many jobs she hated just to keep our heads above water. For a VERY SHORT time she was forced on ADC when she lost her job when the plant closed and once waited in line OVERNIGHT sleeping on the sidewalk with a whole line of other people to put a job application. She had a pinto that had several colors of primer on it and the muffler was wired up with pipe cleaners because mom couldn't afford any other vehicle. My dad was an absent father who did not pay child support. Grandma & Grandpa babysitted me often for mom (they did NOT raise me like so many kids are done with today), also mom had several close friends that babysat for her also and all of them watched me just about the same as if she would have been there herself. Mom frequently worked oddball shifts just so she could spend more of her time being with me rather than have me be a 'latchkey' kid or being home alone unsupervised.

I was a healthy child, fed healthy but certainly by no means overfed nor did we actually go hungry either. We never lived with rats or cockroaches and we had heat in the winter and a single box fan in the summer. We moved several times when rent got raised so mom could still afford to pay the bills, even if it meant changing schools twice.

Perhaps you should be considering the problems of this day and age....the mass advertising, the cheaper imports, the peer pressure on children in schools to have the latest Ipod (and if you don't have it, you're not cool), the fact that parents have to both work to support a family adequately.

It must be nice that some families HAVE two parents.

When I was in school all the 'cool' kids had a tv's and phones in their rooms, a stereo of their own, and Jordache jeans. Yes I longed to be like the 'cool' kids but when I'd ask mom for those things she firmly explained that she couldn't afford them, no we weren't getting them, and that in the grand scheme of things those items didn't mean squat, they were just "things" and if people only liked you because of the 'stuff' you had then they weren't your friends.

We drank powdered milk, couldn't afford pop/cable/or vcr. We had one lone radio in the house my mom got when she got married (no stereo's here), one lone tv (given to us) and our clothes were made by my grandmother because we couldn't afford much for store bought clothing. Most of our furniture was given to us second hand.

On mom's few days off she spent time with me on homework (she insisted I never get below a C average ever), we went for walks, bike rides, went to parks, talked, and went to the library (cheap or free forms of entertainment that foster a solid relationship). She spent time with me EVERY day after work (even if it meant she lost some sleep) to talk with me and do stuff with me. Many times she did without new shoes or dental work so she could provide those to me.

So don't start preaching to me the importance of ipods and 'cool' stuff. They are optional NOT a necessity and the sooner people realize this the better off the world will be!

Gone are the days when mom stayed at home and gave the kids cookies and milk after school.....finito old mate !!!!!

Stuff like that only existed on Leave It To Beaver, get real. NONE of the kids I went to school with had parents that could afford to have a stay at home mom, probably because both parents had to work to buy those stupid Jordache jeans huh?

Times have changed, advertising and sales have become smarter and smarter, they get into your home no matter WHAT you do !!!!!! On TV, on the computer, on magazines, on the voices of peers, newspapers, on every product that comes in your door.

Yeah so if the family has so much money for a computer and magazines why the beef about "sorry no money for food?"

It's still the parents job to say NO regardless of their peers and ads. And it's the parents job to know who the friends are, what kinds of messages the kids are exposed to, and to TALK to their kids about what they may encounter in the world and why the parent believes certain things are in the best interests of the child and STICK with it! My mom managed that, not bad for a single mom huh?

No, you cannot blame people 97%, that is a crazy opinion. Even with the pressures on people in this day and age, most parents are doing absolutely the best they can. And in MY opinion, we should be doing something about the external influences.
Wom

When I see people in my neighborhood (and no I don't live in the projects or anything like that) ALLOWING in full parental view the following things....(and these are only a handfull of TONS of similar type things)

Playing basket ball in the middle of a busy street daily (not moving for traffic either)

Shooting a BB gun at the siding on their own house

A 6 year old bare handedly ripping one of my shrubs in half

A 10 year old boy peeing on the sidewalk in broad daylight (more than one occasion)

Kids ages 5-17 using language that would make a sailor blush, and loud enough you can hear it across the street on a daily basis.

7 year old kids being told to 'keep an eye on the baby' that is sitting on the edge of a pool while the parent goes inside for another beer.

Two teenagers SKATEBOARDING on the roof of their house!

And THESE kids are our FUTURE, no wonder the world is so out of whack these days!

These are just a tiny portion of the things I see on a day to day basis that I NEVER saw when I was growing up and parents kept better tabs on their kids rather than trying to be their friends or trying to buy them so much stuff out of guilty feelings of inadequacy. As a general rule then parents weren't too lazy or too wrapped up in their computers/ipods/video games to take the time it does to RAISE their kids!

I didn't intend this to be an arguement, I simply was stating my opinion that media does not raise the kids, and I think too many people like to place blame with anyone but themselves 97% of the time. My opinion may not be popular, and you may not like it, but it wasn't necessary to get ornery about it when you don't even know how I was raised!

Kinda goes back to the old line "the music/tv/video game" made me do it, I'm not at fault, we should sue" mentality.

I wouldn't be surprised if you deleted this thread because parents can and should have more control over their kids regardless of what the media has to offer! If that be the case then fine, it wasn't my intention to make enemies nor to get into an argument. I was stating my opinion which in the begining you said I had some valid points to, until it apparently hit too close to home.

[wombat2u2004]

Errrrrrrrrrr......I'll listen the the experts....k ????

Pediatricians call for more kids' ad restrictions

By Lorraine Heller

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News Archives

All news for April 2007
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12/5/2006 - Children should have access to special media education that will allow them to become critical of advertising, according to a new policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Published in this month's issue of the AAP's journal Pediatrics, the statement outlines several recommendations to help mitigate the harmful effects of advertising on children.

According to the report, which claims that children are cognitively and psychologically defenseless against advertising, it is necessary to implement severe restrictions to adverts for junk food, cigarettes and alcohol that could be viewed by kids.

"Several European countries forbid or severely curtail advertising to children; in the United States, on the other hand, selling to children is simply 'business as usual'," said the AAP.

And with estimates that children are exposed to over 20,000 adverts per year for foods, especially sugared cereals and high-calorie snacks, the organization adds its voice to the mounting clamor of claims that such exposure is contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic.

However, industry bodies, such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Products Association, claim that advertising to children by food companies is "age and nutritionally appropriate and reflects a balanced approach to health and nutrition".

Currently, the nation's Children's Advertising Unit (CARU) lays out self-regulatory guidelines for all children's advertisers, including food and beverage companies. These guidelines were recently updated, broadening their jurisdiction and strengthening CARU's guidance to food advertisers in a number of areas. These include clarifying that children's food advertising should not depict over-consumption or discourage healthy lifestyle or healthy dietary choices.

And just two weeks ago, ten of the nation's leading food and beverage manufacturers launched the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. This voluntary self-regulation program would impose new requirements on product advertising to kids under 12, while increasing messages that promote good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

But in its updated policy statement, the AAP says more needs to be done.

"Unlike free speech, commercial speech does not enjoy the same protections under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Advertisements can be restricted or even banned if there is a significant public health risk (…) ads for junk food could easily be restricted," it said.

"One solution that is noncontroversial and would be easy to implement is to educate children and teenagers about the effects of advertising - media literacy. Curricula have been developed that teach young people to become critical viewers of media in all of its forms, including advertising," it added.

"Media education seems to be protective in mitigating harmful effects of media, including the effects of cigarette, alcohol, and food advertising."

The AAP recommends that pediatricians work with schools and community groups to implement media education programs, as well as ban all forms of advertising in schools.

Other recommendations include asking Congress to limit commercial advertising of children's programming to no more than 5 to 6 minutes per hour, which would decrease the current amount by 50 percent.

Congress should also be petitioned to implement a ban on junk-food advertising during programming that is viewed predominantly by young children; to prohibit interactive advertising to children in digital TV; and to convene a national task force on advertising under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, or the Federal Trade Commission.

[Catty1]

The professionals here are doing very good things, no doubt.

But the parents do factor in, also - remember, the ark was built by amateurs, and the Titanic by professionals.

I like the media criticism - I hope it becomes mandatory in every school. Imagine the parents hearing about what their kids learned at school that day...or at least wondering why the kids aren't begging for the latest widget.

[wombat2u2004]

The professionals here are doing very good things, no doubt.

But the parents do factor in, also - remember, the ark was built by amateurs, and the Titanic by professionals.

I like the media criticism - I hope it becomes mandatory in every school. Imagine the parents hearing about what their kids learned at school that day...or at least wondering why the kids aren't begging for the latest widget.

Sure, we need to hit this problem from every single direction we can.
Wom

[jackie]

Parents are to blame huh ????
You should get a job with an advertising company, maybe they will greet you with open arms.
Perhaps maybe you could get a soapbox set up down and the park and preach to people about the advantages of one parent stays home to nurture the children properly (never mind about about food....sorry honey, we can't afford it this week !!!)
You my dear, are living in the past !!!!!
Perhaps you should be considering the problems of this day and age....the mass advertising, the cheaper imports, the peer pressure on children in schools to have the latest Ipod (and if you don't have it, you're not cool), the fact that parents have to both work to support a family adequately.
Gone are the days when mom stayed at home and gave the kids cookies and milk after school.....finito old mate !!!!! Times have changed, advertising and sales have become smarter and smarter, they get into your home no matter WHAT you do !!!!!! On TV, on the computer, on magazines, on the voices of peers, newspapers, on every product that comes in your door.
No, you cannot blame people 97%, that is a crazy opinion. Even with the pressures on people in this day and age, most parents are doing absolutely the best they can. And in MY opinion, we should be doing something about the external influences.
Wom

The only thing I agree with is that we should be doing something about the external influences. Peer pressure has always been on children to have the latest fad, but at the end of the day, parents should have the final word. To blame teachers for children slacking in studies, and blame advertising for making them fat and demanding is lunacy.

[Lady's Human]

BTW, Wom, as far as no one being able to afford only one income?

Funny, we're managing it, and doing quite well, thank you. It's a little touch and go at times, but we'd rather do this than have children in daycare. It comes down to choosing which is more important.

[wombat2u2004]

BTW, Wom, as far as no one being able to afford only one income?

Funny, we're managing it, and doing quite well, thank you. It's a little touch and go at times, but we'd rather do this than have children in daycare. It comes down to choosing which is more important.

Well so do I. And that also is my choice.
But when I was a kid, hardly any women worked at all....now most of them do, so they have less time for their kids.
I'm sorry folks if I have a different opinion than you all, but that is my opinion, and as someone else pointed out here on this thread, they shall stand by that, and so shall I stand by mine. It's ok to say blaming external influence is lunacy, but I believe it is a real issue here, and there are certainly many people who will agre with me, especially in the medical profession.
Sheesh.......saying that parents must take the full blunt of the blame is like saying....."hey....lets not have kids and create the problem in the first place".
Like I said before, there are many many parents out there who are doing absolutely the best they can....given the circumstances of junk thrown at their kids them from all angles, they are still doing the best they can. It's the advertising companies and the manufacturers who make a art out of getting money out of kids who are not responsible. Call it business....call it what you like....selling snake oil was slotted into the catagory to.
Wom

[Lady's Human]

Wom, the point is that the external influences can in large part be turned off.