Bye Buy Childhood

Childhood is a marketing opportunity now worth £99 billion in the UK. With the rapid development of new media and children’s growing ownership of that media, marketers can reach children wherever they are to persuade them to consume – whether through celebrity endorsement on TV, internet tracking cookies or peer to peer marketing. The resulting ‘commercialisation of childhood’ has attracted concern across society, from those concerned about a loss of childhood innocence to those who baulk at children being groomed for a lifetime of consumerhood. Whilst parents have mixed opinions as to whether they feel advertising is aimed appropriately at children, three fifths believe that advertising can be harmful to them.

The commercial world does play a positive role in the lives of children but there are links between excessive commercial exposure and negative outcomes. Higher media consumption is linked with greater materialism and resulting dissatisfaction, particularly when children can’t have the same things their friends do. Children’s relationships with their families and friends can also be tested by the pressures of the commercial world. What parent has not encountered pester power at some point? How many children encounter peer pressure to ‘own the right stuff’?

The emphasis placed by the media on appearance and sexiness is also troubling young people. The UK is the country where girls find it the hardest to feel beautiful when confronted with media and marketing ideals of beauty - which in the end are only skin deep. Parents are especially concerned about the scale and impact of sexualised media and advertising upon children: 80% of parents believe that the media make children sexually aware at a younger age than they would be otherwise.

The media and marketing industries are largely self regulated, with clear and enforceable guidelines in relation to children. However, parents feel that regulatory bodies could do more to protect children from inappropriate content in films, video games and on television.

There is no one neat answer to ‘ending the commercialisation of childhood’. However, several groups can play their part in seeking to do so. Firstly, children and their families can reflect on their consumer habits, make change where commercialisation is affecting wellbeing, and advocate for change with industry and government.

Secondly, the manufacturing, marketing and retail industries can take an ethical approach to selling to children, whether through adherence to current regulations and guidelines or implementing new ones, especially in relation to sexualised material.

Thirdly, the coalition Government can act on its promise to ‘crack down on the irresponsible advertising and marketing, especially to children’ and ‘take steps to tackle the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood’. In particular, the Government needs to take further action to prohibit the ‘sex sells’ approach being aimed at children under 16, and prevent children from being exposed to sexualised media and marketing.

Mothers’ Union’s Bye Buy Childhood campaign is seeking to make these changes. For further information and campaign resources please go to www.byebuychildhood.org

the Mothers' Union, 14/03/2011

Tags: Bye Buy Childhood, Mothers' Union