Clever Currents

Marketing the Baby Genius

Last year, Harvard psychologist Susan Linn filed a complaint with the federal trade commission, arguing that advertisements for so-called "baby-genius" videos in the US are false and deceptive because there is no evidence watching them helps babies learn. "The bind is that parents in this country are under terrible stress, so the idea that these videos might be educational is helpful for them, because it makes it OK to put babies in front of screens," said Ms Linn, co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "These companies have been doing a really good job of convincing parents these videos are education - but there's no evidence that television is beneficial, and some evidence that it may be harmful." 



The Blue Lake take on it:
Look beyond the marketing. If you choose to have your baby watch videos, we recommend disciplined moderation. It's important to monitor what your kids watch and to avoid a daily ritual or "video as reward" system. As kids grow older, video fare aimed at them becomes more commercial. That's the focus of The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and their website is worth reviewing. Richard Hill, a reporter from our hometown paper The Oregonian, has just covered the latest studies.

"Mommy, I want that!" Advertising to kids – can you defend against it?

In January discussions we held with moms, a frequently mentioned positive characteristic of our preschool magazine The Tessy & Tab Reading Club was that the magazine is "advertising-free". That got us looking for research on advertising to kids. A study of Saturday morning children's programming found roughly 10 food ads per hour – more than half of all ads. The majority (43%) promoted candy, soft drinks, chocolate syrup, chips, cakes, and cookies. Fast-food advertising was next at 11% of total ads. There were no advertisements for fruits or vegetables. "Such advertising contributes to poor nutritional habits that may last a lifetime and be a variable in the current epidemic of obesity among kids." said psychologist Brian Wilcox, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska. "Because younger children do not understand persuasive intent in advertising, they are easy targets for commercial persuasion." 



The Blue Lake take on it:

In today's media-saturated world it is very hard to avoid ads. Build critical thinking skills by teaching your children what commercials are and how they try to affect your thinking. Common Sense Media, a non-profit dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families, has a useful tip sheet for managing media consumption in your family.