Raising Healthy Children in a Commercialized World

Commercialism is a factor in many of the key problems facing children today, including obesity, eating disorders, youth violence, increased materialism and the erosion of the creative play. Not so long ago, the primary way advertisers reached children was through television commercials – and protecting kids from the harmful effects of marketing was as simple as turning off the TV. Now marketers use an array of advanced techniques that are difficult for many adults to discern, let alone a developing child. Today, advertisers are tracking kids across devices, using interactive toys, and even mining sensitive student data to create consumer profiles of children. Marketing is so ubiquitous that protecting children from its harmful effects can seem overwhelming. In this workshop, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood's (CCFC) Executive Director, Josh Golin, will describe how advertising has evolved, how this maps on different stages of childhood, and what we can do – as parents and communities – to give kids the commercial free time and space they need in order to thrive. Pre-registration is appreciated: http://bit.ly/chabot425

CCFC’s supports parents’ efforts to raise healthy families by limiting commercial access to children and promoting a modern childhood shaped by what’s best for kids, not corporate profits. CCFC’s advocacy is grounded in the overwhelming evidence that child-targeted marketing undermines healthy development and the belief that society bears responsibility for, and benefits immeasurably from, the well-being of children. In working for the rights of children to grow up—and the freedom for parents to raise them—without being undermined by corporate interests, CCFC promotes a more democratic and sustainable world.