Adproofing Your Kids

This is a hands-on, practical book that offers parents the tools to alleviate the 'pestering' behaviour encouraged by marketers and advertisers. It also guides parents in helping their children to think critically about the media messages that surround them on a daily basis. Parents themselves, Daniel Donahoo and Tania Andrusiak began researching this book with their own concerns about the effects of media and marketing on young children today and soon found that these were shared by families all over. The problems seem to arise from two clear facts: young children today spend more time immersed in electronic media and are subjected to more targeted marketing than any generation before them.

Some of the main issues parents shared were:

'My kids want to spend hours in front of the TV. How do I teach them to manage their viewing?' 'Supermarkets push cereals, poppers, chips and chocolate to our kids and I've stopped taking them with me because of the pestering! How do other parents cope?' 'Sexualised images are everywhere! What are my kids learning from them, and how can I help them to question these messages?'

Parents also indicated they were highly concerned about their children's exposure to advertising, inappropriate sexual messages, violent acts shown as acceptable responses, images of unattainable body shapes, and the effects of new technologies (particularly the Internet).

In response to such concerns, this book contains tried-and true solutions (suitable for children aged from 2 to 12) gleaned from hundreds of parents, educators and psychologists to counter the blatant and hidden manipulation of children by advertisers and popular media.

About the Authors

Tania Andrusiak has previously worked in advertising and as a journalist, while Daniel Donahoo is author of Idolising Children, and a commentator on child and family policy.