I don't think it would work for the exact reason you say, peer pressure. It's one thing not seeing things on tv but they still go to school & see what other kids have. I don't like some things that are out now like toys that aren't that fun but they are more about collecting a whole set more then enjoying playing with them. Where is the fun in that? It encourages kids to think about quantity rather than quality. Also, what happens with what I can only describe as crap when they have got the full set? It goes in the bin.
It's hard to get a perfect balance of spending time with kids and spending money on them. Some people can get it right but it's different for everyone. What works for my family wouldn't work for others. There are kids channels with no adverts on and if I'm honest at first I used to let mine watch those but after a while they moved on to the channels with ads and... it has made no difference. I am very much into encouraging our two to be themselves and follow the crowd if that's what you feel like doing but not just to be a sheep so I think it is more down to how you deal with your kids and explain things. Also, they learn by example. If you have to have the latest everything and act like a kid because the latest this, that and the other is out chances are the kids will follow suit. Blaming adverts is a bit of an insult that we all just focus on the ads and do what they say. We're not all like that.
I don't know if a ban on advertising aimed at under 12's would work. It would be difficult and unrealistic to enforce without a complete ban on advertising full stop. There's not just TV, there's the internet, magazines, newspapers, flyers that get pushed through your door, billboards and posters on the street. Where do you start, where do you stop and what exactly do you cover? Should it just be toys, games and DVD's or should it be everything from sweets to clothes, shoes and music? Do you ban cinemas from advertising films for children and do you ban restaurants such as Pizza Hut & MacDonalds from advertising?
As well as parents feeling guilty about not being able to spend time with their children I think peer pressure plays a big part in it too. We live in a very fast paced, materialistic world where everybody, both adults and children alike have to have everything and they have to have it now. Even with younger children the most popular kids are those with the latest mobile phones, games machines and designer clothes and those who don't have them get bullied mercilessly (kids can be very cruel). No parent wants their child to be bullied so they feel that they have to buy their kids everything they want and have work all the hours god sends to be able to do it. It's a vicious circle. And it's our generation that is to blame because we started it!
This country as a whole needs to slow down and we need to change our attitudes. Children most probably do want to spend more time with their families and parents long to spend more time with their children but in Britain parents, particularly mothers just can't win. If you go out to work you're a bad parent who neglects your children yet if you stay at home with your children you're a bone-idle scrounger. I'm sure many many parents both mothers and fathers wish they could afford to spend more time at home with the children but the reality is that these days with the prices of absolutely everything sky high both parents have no choice but to work to provide a decent standard of living. It would be nice if the government gave more financial help for parents to enable them to spend more time with their children but more importantly we need to curb our materialistic 'I want it all' attitudes. That means everybody; young and old, rich and poor.
Replies
I don't think it would work for the exact reason you say, peer pressure. It's one thing not seeing things on tv but they still go to school & see what other kids have. I don't like some things that are out now like toys that aren't that fun but they are more about collecting a whole set more then enjoying playing with them. Where is the fun in that? It encourages kids to think about quantity rather than quality. Also, what happens with what I can only describe as crap when they have got the full set? It goes in the bin.
It's hard to get a perfect balance of spending time with kids and spending money on them. Some people can get it right but it's different for everyone. What works for my family wouldn't work for others. There are kids channels with no adverts on and if I'm honest at first I used to let mine watch those but after a while they moved on to the channels with ads and... it has made no difference. I am very much into encouraging our two to be themselves and follow the crowd if that's what you feel like doing but not just to be a sheep so I think it is more down to how you deal with your kids and explain things. Also, they learn by example. If you have to have the latest everything and act like a kid because the latest this, that and the other is out chances are the kids will follow suit. Blaming adverts is a bit of an insult that we all just focus on the ads and do what they say. We're not all like that.
As well as parents feeling guilty about not being able to spend time with their children I think peer pressure plays a big part in it too. We live in a very fast paced, materialistic world where everybody, both adults and children alike have to have everything and they have to have it now. Even with younger children the most popular kids are those with the latest mobile phones, games machines and designer clothes and those who don't have them get bullied mercilessly (kids can be very cruel). No parent wants their child to be bullied so they feel that they have to buy their kids everything they want and have work all the hours god sends to be able to do it. It's a vicious circle. And it's our generation that is to blame because we started it!
This country as a whole needs to slow down and we need to change our attitudes. Children most probably do want to spend more time with their families and parents long to spend more time with their children but in Britain parents, particularly mothers just can't win. If you go out to work you're a bad parent who neglects your children yet if you stay at home with your children you're a bone-idle scrounger. I'm sure many many parents both mothers and fathers wish they could afford to spend more time at home with the children but the reality is that these days with the prices of absolutely everything sky high both parents have no choice but to work to provide a decent standard of living. It would be nice if the government gave more financial help for parents to enable them to spend more time with their children but more importantly we need to curb our materialistic 'I want it all' attitudes. That means everybody; young and old, rich and poor.