Children begin to make selections of products such as toys and food at a very early age. Parents interpret their children as 'pestering' particularly at younger ages, when children's speech is less articulate. Repetitive asking until it is given by parents is often children's only way of expressing their desires. Children's preferences do affect parent's consumption patterns. Professor James McNeal of the University of Austin has noted that approximately half the requests for purchases from children are successful.
Parents play an important role in helping children to understand advertising.
By co-viewing commercials, offering explanatory and providing evaluative comments, parents can influence children's reactions to what they see and channel or counteract their impact. J.E. van Lil of the Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden notes that, despite the effectiveness of this guidance method, few parents harness the opportunity to educate their children on advertising. Recent studies have shown that the influence children exert on the purchasing decisions in households is extensive and on the increase. Given the increasing importance of children in domestic consumption decisions, it follows that children are increasingly vocalising their purchase requests. Critics argue that pester power is promoted by advertisers and is divisive and undermines parental authority with children.