Should food Advertisements be targeted at children and teens

“MOMMY BUT I WANT IT! I WANT THE SPONGE-BOB CHOCOLATE BAR!” Have you ever heard that from your child? Do they ask for sugary, high-in-fat foods a lot? Do you buy it for them a lot?” Now are they getting a little bit chubby? Do you want to know what is causing them to ask for these chips or candy which is making them unhealthy? Advertising is America’s road to Obesity especially in children and tweens. I am informing you about all the ways advertisers can sneak ads into your life. There are many, many ways they do this. Ads affect the obesity in children. Obesity has almost everything to do with advertising. Ads get kids to want to buy a junk food in which has them beg you to buy the junk food. They buy it so much that they get fat. Kids watch a lot of television. Haven’t you noticed? Television exposes little children and tweens to a lot of ads. Ads are mostly targeted at 2-8 year olds. Especially with sugar cereals. The advertisers slowly brainwash these innocent children into buying these high in fat indulgences. The advertisers try to get to the kids at a very young age to get life buyers. Which means that the kid will buy their product for the rest of their life. “Children have figured out that if they beg their parents multiple times to buy a sugary food, their parents will give in and buy the kid that specific food or candy. Just so the child will stop bothering their parents.”- Consuming the Kids: Commercialization of childhood (Documentary). The kids keep up this same process until the parents just buy the kid the food or candy regularly. See, nag, buy, eat, repeat. See. nag, buy, eat, repeat. This is what has come to childhood these days. The advertisers are like a magnet to kids they will draw the kids in to buy their product. Then when the advertisers get to them with the commercials they can’t stop eating their product. They eat and eat and eat until those little innocent kids you once knew turned into a big slob that in twenty years from now is still living at your house. You don’t want this to happen to your kid do you? Have you seen more characters from movies and TV shows on cereal boxes lately? Advertisers will use those loving, adoring characters as another way to lure your child or tween into their grasp. “When you are shopping at the mall and your child says ‘Mommy, I want this Scooby-Doo Mac-and-Cheese! It’s really good!’ Then you’ll say’ Have you ever had it before?’ then your child will say ‘No, but I know it is good!’ These characters on these sugary foods get kids to think that the character itself makes the candy or themed cereal makes the candy better. Then when your kid sees the themed cereal he asks, and asks, and asks until you give in and get it for him. Then he wants more and you buy it until for you it becomes a habit that when you run out you buy more. Your kid eats that and won’t eat almost anything else and then the get overweight because of eating it so much.”-Consuming the Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood. In my own experience I have found that there are games where you play the character collecting the product or keeping it away from harm. For example: McDonald’s McWorld. It is a virtual world that is based off of the theme of the toys that McDonald's is giving out that month. Advertisers will use these sweet, adoring characters against us for them to make a few extra bucks. Advertisers are not all sugar and spice and certainly don’t play nice. They love to sneak little ads into your everyday life and you don’t know it. Did you know that they will pay Celebrities to say the like a certain product on twitter and tweens following him will see that tweet and they will go out and buy that product because a celebrity said it. There are websites that will make the user watch an ad to get something free or to login. This is occasionally when you are online or playing a game on your phone. Be careful on what you are urged to buy because you may say “Pssshht. Yeah right.” But you are being brainwashed by ads too. All you need to do is ignore these ads and you’re set! Obesity has everything to do with advertising. Don’t fall victim to the perky ads. Let your kids admire characters, but not have a lot of themed foods. Don’t let celebrity’s get to you. I know this is a lot to take in and I know what you are thinking “Honey, get the sledgehammer we are scraping the TV!” No! Don’t do it! All you have to do is ignore the ads so you and your children don’t get overweight.