Children and Advertising: Why It's Important to Talk About It

Why Advertising is So Tempting for Children

Many parents fear that advertising encourages children to constantly want new things. It's no wonder, as colorful commercials are incredibly appealing to kids. Often, they cannot properly assess the advertising messages and are therefore easily influenced. This temptation can lead to frustration when desires cannot be fulfilled, which can create tension in family life. This leads some parents to call for a complete ban on children's advertising. But is that really the solution?

Bans or Education?

A media educator sees it differently: the impact of advertising is often overestimated. Of course, advertising sparks desires; that is its purpose. However, instead of banning advertising, we should educate our children about how advertising works and the tricks it uses. Advertising is omnipresent and cannot simply be ignored. Therefore, it is much more sensible to empower children to recognize and critically question advertising. Through discussions about advertising content and its intentions, parents can help their children develop a healthy skepticism towards advertising promises.

How Children Can Better Understand Advertising

The more children know about the intentions and methods of advertising, the more critically they can engage with it. Instead of demonizing advertising, we should see it for what it is: a colorful distraction that can sometimes inspire. Good advertising can be funny and even achieve viral success, while bad advertising is often ignored. Parents can watch commercials with their children and discuss what stands out to them. What emotions are being targeted? What promises are being made? This way, children learn to analyze advertising and minimize its influence.

Children as the Target Audience for Advertising

Children are a coveted target audience because they are the consumers of tomorrow. They already have a considerable amount of pocket money and influence their parents' purchasing decisions. Therefore, companies try to establish brand loyalty early on by equipping schools with devices or sponsoring sports events. These strategies aim to create positive associations with the brand that can last a lifetime. Parents should be aware of these strategies and talk to their children about why certain brands are so prominent and what intentions lie behind them.

What Children Like About Advertising

Children love cartoon characters and fantasy worlds. Girls prefer calm music and the color pink, while boys are drawn to action and the color blue. Advertisers deliberately exploit these preferences to market their products to the young audience. Parents can use these preferences to discuss stereotypes in advertising with their children. Why are certain colors or themes associated with a particular gender? Such conversations promote critical thinking and help children avoid being pushed into stereotypical roles.

Learning to Recognize Advertising

To deal with advertising, children need to learn to recognize it. On television, this often works for six-year-olds, thanks to clear indications of commercial breaks. In magazines or online, they find it harder to identify advertising, as it often disguises itself as contests. Parents can help their children by browsing magazines or websites together and searching for hidden advertising. This way, children develop a sense of where advertising lurks and how it camouflages itself.

Subtle Advertising Strategies

Some forms of advertising are so subtle that even adults do not always see through them. Real car brands appear in video games, and in sports games, the advertising boards are real. This subtle placement of brands can unconsciously influence children's perceptions and preferences. Influencers also contribute to brand building by showcasing products without always labeling them as advertising. Parents should discuss these subtle strategies with their children and encourage them to critically question why a product appears in a certain context.

Letting Children Create Their Own Advertising

An effective way to turn children into advertising experts is to let them develop their own campaigns. They quickly realize that advertising often promises much and delivers little. This experience helps them view advertising more critically. Parents can start small projects with their children where they create their own commercials. In doing so, they learn what techniques are used to make products appear attractive and recognize how easy it is to portray a product in a positive light, even if it may not deserve it.

Support from Organizations

Organizations provide teaching materials to help children deal with advertising. These materials use real commercials to show children how to question advertising and form their own opinions. Parents can utilize these resources to support their children at home and encourage them to express their thoughts on advertising content. Such programs promote media literacy and help children act more confidently and critically in an advertising-driven world.

A Personal Reflection

Do you remember the advertisements from your childhood? Perhaps you have bought something because the advertising was so tempting, only to find out later that it was impractical. Show your children such examples to illustrate that not everything that glitters is gold. By sharing personal experiences, parents can convey to their children that it is normal to fall for advertising and that it is important to learn from these experiences and remain critical.

Let’s talk to our children about advertising and help them critically question the promises made. This way, they learn not to be swayed by every commercial.