Geena pushed a grocery cart down the cereal aisle with her four-year-old son, Marc, on board. It wasn’t long before he spotted his favorite cartoon character on the brightly-colored boxes. Marc pointed at the boxes and whined, “I want that, mama!” over and over again. “Not this time, honey,” Geena said. Marc started to cry full-force, but Geena rolled along, ignoring stares from the other shoppers.
Chances are that this has happened to you — at least once. Advertising that is designed to make children want certain products is very effective and it’s everywhere. It’s on TV, at the movies, in games, on food packages and much more.
Food Advertising Sways Children’s Choices
A study published in 2010 in the journal Pediatrics found that four to six-year-old children preferred the taste of snacks in packages that pictured cartoon characters.
Unfortunately, food companies use characters to promote less nutritious foods more often than they use characters to promote healthy ones. In 2011, a study of children’s programs on the most popular channels found that 73% of food ads aimed at children used a familiar character, and that 72% of these ads promoted foods of low nutritional quality.
Parents Can Provide Proper Limits
The good news is that parents have the power to override the influence of food advertising. Parents can make the right choices for their children.
- Parents can reduce the amount of advertising children see by setting limits on screen time (screen time includes time watching TV, using computers and playing electronic games). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting screen time to no more than an hour each day for children age two and older. For children under age two, they recommend no screen time, except for video chatting.
- Parents also have final say about which foods and beverages to purchase and offer to their children. In other words, parents don’t have to give in to a child’s demands for certain foods or beverages just because they like the kid-friendly packaging.
Once in a while, it’s OK for children to eat less nutritious foods like chips, cookies, pie and cake. In fact, parents should be sure to include these foods occasionally as a part of meals and snacks — along with a variety of other foods. This teaches children that all foods are OK, which helps them grow up to have a healthy relationship with food and eating.
Here are a few tips to help parents include less nutritious foods in moderation (adapted from Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, Ellyn Satter, 2008):
- Once in a while, offer unlimited sweets at snack time. For instance, serve a plate of cookies or snack cakes and a glass of milk and let your child eat as many as he or she wants.
- When having sweets for dessert, serve it with the meal, but allow just one serving.
- If you drink soda, tell your child it’s a grown-up drink. When your child is older, offer a small serving of soda as a special treat.
No one can escape food advertising — it’s everywhere. But parents have the final say about which foods to offer their children. When parents provide a variety of foods — including less nutritious foods once in a while — children are more likely to be better eaters and get the nutrients they need for growth and health. 