Thursday, October 12, 2006

Kids and Ads

Advertisments are the primary way in which kids are hit with the "spend, spend, spend" message. Parents can help their kids understand how to analyze ads. Commonsense Media has an short, useful paper about how to protect kids under seven from being exploited by advertisters. The main key questions Commonsense lists are as follows:

1. Who created this message?
2. What words, images, and sounds are used to attrach my attention?
3. What is really being "sold" in this message?
4. What does this message mean to me?

These may seem like somewhat adult questions, but with advertisers targeting the massive kids market as young as early as two, it's time we equip our kids with the tools to spend smart.

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