Article Link:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/726
2936.stm

Children 'damaged' by materialism
BBC NEWS
Published: 2008/02/26 00:01:14 GMT

Most adults in the UK believe that children's well-being is being
damaged because childhood has become too commercial, a lifestyle poll
has found.
Some 89% of adults in the GfK NOP survey of 1,255 people believed
today's children were more materialistic than previous generations.

The poll is one of the contributions to a continuing inquiry into
childhood.

The Children's Society said adults had to "take responsibility for the
current level of marketing to children".

Bob Reitemeier, chief executive of the society, said: "A crucial
question raised by the inquiry is whether childhood should be a space
where developing minds are free from concentrated sales techniques.

"To accuse children of being materialistic in such a culture is a cop-
out," he said.

Children should be encouraged to value themselves for who they are as
people rather than what they own
Dr Rowan Williams

Mr Reitemeier said: "Unless we question our own behaviour as a society
we risk creating a generation who are left unfulfilled through chasing
unattainable lifestyles."

The children's market is worth an estimated £30bn a year.

As chief executive of the National Schools Partnership, Mark Fawcett
brings business and marketing into schools, and he believes you cannot
shield children from the real world.

"We have to live in the current communications era where children can
see a huge amount of information," he told BBC TV news.

"We have to use our judgement and we have to, as an industry, make
sure we are working with children and families, and not exploiting
them."

Selling lifestyles

HAVE YOUR SAY Parents should be stronger at refusing the ridiculous
demands for the latest gear at huge prices Hayley Smith Rotherham

The evidence on lifestyle is part of a six-part series of
investigations published by the Children's Society for a continuing
inquiry into childhood in the UK which brings together the views of
academics, religious communities, teachers, local authorities and
authors.

Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is patron of the
inquiry, said: "Children should be encouraged to value themselves for
who they are as people rather than what they own.

"The selling of lifestyles to children creates a culture of material
competitiveness and promotes acquisitive individualism at the expense
of the principles of community and co-operation."

CHILDHOOD LIFESTYLE POLL
90% agree childhood more materialistic
69% agree violent video games make children more aggressive
90% believe Christmas advertising puts pressure on parents to spend
more than they can afford
60% believe there should be a government ban on junk food
advertising

One member of the childhood inquiry panel has warned that the
commercial pressures on youngsters may have damaging psychological
effects.

Professor Philip Graham, Emeritus Professor of Child Psychiatry at the
Institute of Child Health in London, said: "One factor that may be
leading to rising mental health problems is the increasing degree to
which children and young people are preoccupied with possessions; the
latest in fashionable clothes and electronic equipment.

"Evidence both from the United States and from the UK suggests that
those most influenced by commercial pressures also show higher rates
of mental health problems," he went on.

Junk food advertising

The poll found that an overwhelming majority, 90%, of adults thought
that advertising to children at Christmas put pressure on parents to
spend more than they can afford.

Sixty per cent of those questioned believed that children and young
people's self esteem was being damaged by a negative portrayal of
their age group in the media.

Women in the survey were more likely than men to think the media was
causing the damage, with 63% agreeing, compared to 56% of men.

READ THE FULL REPORT

Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need
Adobe Reader

Sixty-nine per cent of the sample thought violent video games made
children more aggressive.

A majority of the adults questioned agreed that the government should
ban advertising of unhealthy food.

One parent who admits to feeling the commercial pressures of
parenthood is Zara Hobley, aged 35.

With three children between the ages of one and four, Mrs Hobley
believes it is important to be able to teach them about discipline and
boundaries.

"We're never going to beat the big companies that push impressive
marketing campaigns but what we can do is equip ourselves and our
children to be able to say no and not to feel bad about it."

Mrs Hobley said: "As parents we have a responsibility to teach our
children how to cope with materialism. If we can teach them some kind
of responsibility then I think that will work."

This theme is the fourth in the childhood inquiry; the previous ones
have included friends, family and learning.

The first theme, published in June 2007, found that adult anxieties
about the modern world were curtailing children's freedom to play with
friends.

Over the next 12 months the inquiry will hold meetings on the
remaining themes of health and values and a final report will be
published in 2009.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/7262936.stm

Published: 2008/02/26 00:01:14 GMT

© BBC MMVIII