Our TV only works as a video player, so our six year old has seen few ads, but simply pointing out to her that some of the”movies” she sees–the endless Blu-Ray, Disney product, etc. promotions you must forward through on your DVD–are trying to get us to buy something has had an effect.

At first I thought it might have been inoculation through inundation, as I was ‘allowed’ to view limitless amounts of TV for as long as I can remember(my mother says I started trying to learn to read with the TV guide to see what was on). Anyway, upon further reflection I remember(vaguely of course) seeing toy ads and whatnot as a kid, but my desire for the products really didn’t have much to do with the ad as the actual toy, as I would want it just as much upon seeing it on the shelf with or without the ad.

I don’t overtly remember any other product ads, nor being subtly brainwashed. The main example of this is that I liked Lucky Charms, but was perfectly happy with the Malt’o Meal version, as I could plainly see they were the same thing. I would however still refer to it as lucky charms, but I believe that has more to do with the more complex intricacies of branding and the sort of commonization that happed with Kleenex.

This leads me to believe that my general immunity is more natural stemming from my generally higher IQ(and placement in gifted programs to match) than most others.

But I guess this will make me more cautious/observant for the effect of ads should the day come that I ever have a child.

I’ll be posting Q&A on the effort soon, w/analysis for parents etc. Meanwhile I really like the Media Literacy Clearinghouse for hands-on info to teach kids about what they’re seeing & question in healthy manners from the onset!

I loved the idea of teaching kids to examine the information presented to them. I am sure kids as young as 4 years old can develop critical thinking regarding TV.

Kids are born with no filters. It is their parents’ duty to help them develop them.

Great tip! I loved it.

If anyone’s interested in more on this topic of watching TV, read the series “TV Diet”, starting from TV Diet (1): Too Much TV?

My personal peeve, of all products: Food “Products” which are sold as part of a “fun experience” – rather than something to eat or drink. It’s not an adventure, it’s a g.d. snack, and you’d be better off either seeking out a genuine activity or genuine food.

[...] Rich Slowly had guest post a while back on How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising. I am trying some of these ideas. I know that advertising definitely affects our [...]

Your seven year old seems wise beyond his years and that undoubtedly has to do with the lack of TV and his need to then create his own image of the world around him and exercise his reasoning power. What a wonderful gift. He’ll never be a “sheeple”.

Adbusters has a great video on their site this week showing how kids “tune out” when watching TV. The link is

Adbusters Video

I highly recommend viewing it.

[...] So how can we best inoculate kids with media literacy while shielding from apathy and giveupitis…AND balancing idealistic overkill with [...]

I thought this was going to be another “we don’t let our kids watch TV because commercials will ruin them” post.

We generally take the same approach with our kids. We just openly discuss commercials/advertising. I don’t like parenting that shields kids from reality, but much prefer parenting that teaches them how to survive best in the real world. & this is a perfect example.

[...] Tiffin has a guest post at Get Rich Slowly about inoculate your kids against advertising. The analogy is great, and may save me a lot of saying “No” in the years to [...]

I don’t know if I my kids would be so clever at such a young age, though

[...] Protect your child from the effects of advertising. [...]

[...] For ideas along those lines, you should check out Get Rich Slowly’s excellent post How To Innoculate Your Children Against Advertising.  By raising a savvy consumer and shrewd financial manager, you prepare them for a sometimes scary [...]

[...] advertisers use, and how the ads make your children feel. Others have tried that strategy, and found it worked. And there’s another thing we can do: spend a little more time with the kids, helping them [...]

There are some fabulous interactive sites to use as tools to ‘show and tell’ the deconstruction of advertising tricks, like this one I wrote about on Shaping Youth which we use in our sessions having kids design/name their own product/packaging, from pbskids:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=188

Another I like is Ad Decoder (not highly publicized, but from the CDC:) http://www.bam.gov/sub_yourlife/yourlife_addecoder_game.html

And at our nonprofit, Shaping Youth we go one step further and use ‘counter-marketing’ tactics (with the help of industry insiders skilled in persuasion) to shift motivations via ‘lift and reveal’ messaging when it veers into the harmful manipulation realm. (e.g. body image, junk food, objectification, behavioral norms, relational aggression/bullying, etc.)

Here’s a little tip sheet we did for Common Sense Media’s resource section on talking to your kids about junk food (generic enough to apply universally)
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent_tips/junk-food.php

To me, the toughest thing to counter-market is ambient advertising/”brandwashing” as it literally turns up EVERYwhere…on the beach sand, skywriting, mall displays you name it.

Oh, wait, second thought, maybe peer to peer viral ‘word of mouth’ marketing (the lunch table/schoolyard scene) is harder. Try turning that ‘off’—Send tips my way, we can always use ‘em too!

Amy Jussel
Founder, Exec. Dir.
http://www.shapingyouth.org

p.s. Click on our “counter-marketing” category in the sidebar for more deconstruction tactics you can do at home, and share ones that work w/us too, ‘k?

[...] How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising – Get Rich Slowly [...]

[...] How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising. One mom’s account of media education in the home.  [...]

[...] was surprised at the power that those commercials had over her. As Lisa Tiffin writes on the weblog How To Get Rich Slowly, “while I had been dismissing commercial-watching as a mildly amusing pastime, marketers were [...]

-Is that a need or a want?
-Have you tried the other brand to see what you think?
-Do you think the other brand names can do the same things? Why not?
-How do you think they know that XYZ drink is better than the other ones?

When he got a little older (12 or so)…
-Is it fair for XYZ to say they are better if the other brand can do the same thing?
-Is there a price difference?
-If mom asks why we chose this XYZ over the other brand, can we tell her good reasons?

Before anyone thinks I run torture camp, I should qualify that I am a teacher (9th grade economics).

He’s 16 now and a great shopper. Often turning these questions back on me. Of course, my answer is “I’m paying for it.”

I think it’s like the preacher’s kids drinking and smoking as soon as they go away to college. When you keep anything from your children, it acquires an abnormal attractiveness.

Talking to kids about the content of ads is by far a superior idea. I commend you.

Hubby and I started inoculating our 4 boys a while back by talking to each other about commercials when we know the boys are listening. Usually it’s some mild sarcasm like “yeah right…that (insert product here) is reeeally going to (insert ridiculous benefit here).” I’ve noticed that the boys have gotten pretty critical about what the commercials claim. A few purchases of dollar store items with their own dollars has helped with the critical thinking too. Being able to buy lots of junk is great until you realize that it’s a lot of junk.

We also editorialize tv shows and movies if something really unrealistic happens. We even tease sometimes if it looks like a main character is going to be in danger and say “well, looks like this show is over forever. So and so is gonna die”. Then they all groan and say “Mo-ommmm” The point isn’t to ruin their viewing experience, but to remind them that it’s all scripted in advance.

Of course, this has come back to bite us in the behind a little because now it’s hard to watch anything on TV without 4 boys under the age of 10 chattering away and analyzing everything to pieces. I’m happy with that though.

The advertising is everywhere in the real world, even if you don’t allow and tv or internet. And yes, all of us are going to be swayed for something at some point … some people more than others. The key is just starting to recognize advertising for what it is. I think it’s something you get better at over time …

~Brea