Sometimes you can see the impact of media right away, such as when your child watches superheros fighting and then copies their moves during play. But most of the time the impact is not so immediate or obvious. Just as you would limit certain foods in your child's diet that may be unhealthy, you also should limit her media diet of messages. Some examples of these follow. Use of cigarettes and alcohol Messages about tobacco and alcohol are everywhere in media.
Kids see characters on screen smoking and drinking.
They see signs for tobacco and alcohol products at concerts and sporting events. Advertising also sways teens to smoke and drink. Teens who see a lot of ads for beer, wine, liquor, and cigarettes admit that it influences them to want to drink and smoke. It is not by chance that the three most advertised cigarette brands are also the most popular ones smoked by teens. Advertisers of tobacco and alcohol purposely leave out the negative information about their products.