The effects of advertisements on our children

I have a confident, cheeky, happy eight-year-old daughter who beamed with pride as she stood in front of the whole school and demonstrated her spelling skills during her recent Year 4 assembly.

She’s growing up, changing, maturing and the teenage years are looming in front of us, approaching faster than I would like.

I don’t want to see that confidence undermined or eroded away. I don’t want her questioning her appearance, her size, her value in this world.

With the increasing number of advertisements targeting her as she grows older, I question how I can ever counteract the powerful messages they are sending out. Messages that are telling her she needs to be perfect when she’s exactly right as she is.

This video posted by Killers of Confidence looks at the messages being given out by the hundreds of advertisements that target young people and the effect they can have on their image and self-esteem. 

Advertisements that tell girls they should be tall, skinny, tanned, pretty and rich. Advertisements that tell boys they should be tall, dark, handsome, tough, muscular and protective. Advertisements that promote perfection, as if it is achievable, as if it is the only thing that matters in life, as if our children need to change who they are and the people they are growing up to be.

The video is over a year old but the message is just as powerful, and just as necessary.

It takes confidence, determination, drive and a strong sense of self-belief to override these messages. It shouldn’t be that way. Let children be themselves and be whoever they want to be.

This post is inspired by Kat’s post: Dear So and So – Miss Respresentation.

Comments

[Ali]

Another great post, these video's should be screened in all Schools and get discussion's going. I know some schools do this sort of thing but far to many don't.

The media really does have a lot to answer for.

xxx

[PollyBurns2]

So true and as you say, not just affecting girls. I have a son and don't want him growing up thinking that's how a woman should be or feeling any pressure himself to "conform" to what adverts are telling him. It's insidious and dangerous and advertisers will always think of the money first, not the effects the adverts are having. Great post. Polly

[Rosie Scribble]

Thanks Ali. I'd love schools to show videos like this. It would be a great conversation starter and I think it would be beneficial to many. Shame so few do that. xxx

[Rosie Scribble]

Thanks Polly. You're right. I hadn't given much thought to the fact that these images will also make boys think women should look this way. In many respects it all seems quite degrading doesn't it? Very worrying indeed. Thanks for dropping by.

[michelle twin mum]

Ohh my, what a battle may lay ahead that I am just not ready for yet. Just today I was pondering a post about the media and how I will start to limit what my children are exposed to - I may not be the world most popular mum but they will appreciate it one day.

Mich x

[Iota]

What really bugs me is that the discussion often centres around how we can't all be perfect, and that ad and the media are setting us all up for disappointment, and depression. But that misses the hugely important point that THERE IS NO PERFECT. It's all random. Why is it considered attractive to be tall and slim? There is nothing inherently prettier about that. If you look at pictures of movie stars of the 1940s, they look a little plump. They clearly weren't considered plump at the time. In the 1920s, being flat-chested was attractive. Now having a big cleavage is the thing. It's not that we can't all be perfect. It's that we shouldn't accept that there is any standard to aspire to in the first place. Even small details are subject to the whims of trends. I saw a clip from the movie "Father of the Bride" recently, and was struck by how bushy the daughter's eyebrows were. But at the time, she would have looked totally normal. Beauty is totally in the eye of the beholder.

Great post, Rosie.