Iyana Garry
In the previous article, the role of the media in child obesity was explored. Now, let’s explore the role of the parents.
Ah, the parents, the caretakers, the ones who control what their child(ren) can and cannot watch on TV, the ones who can prevent their child(ren) from being exposed to these scheming advertisements. Parents play a paramount role in their child(ren)’s life. “Child obesity is putting parents into the picture,” says Susan Tree, a Dietetic Internship Coordinator of CUNY-Lehman College, “the parents are who is putting food on the table. The kids don’t know any better.”
However, the amount of responsibility parents hold is still indefinite. People have been watching TV and advertisements for over 50 years. It is a possibility that the parents have been exposed to food advertisements when they were their child(ren)’s age and are unaware of the damage of the food ads. But, is that a good enough excuse? “Parents have to educate themselves,” says Tree, “as to what is being shown to them and take responsible for what their kids watch on TV. They don’t know what is in these foods.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children under age 2 should not be exposed to television, otherwise the hypnotism of food advertisements will catch on quickly and early. For children over 2 years of age, TV viewing limitations should be up to1-2 hours. The Federal Communications Commission, an organization that controls the advertising guidelines of children’s television programs, lent a hand by their guidelines. Some disallow advertisements, which contain cartoon characters, from being broadcasted during the commercial breaks of children’s programs. Fifteen years prior, Congress passed a law called the Children’s Television Act, which limits the play of children’s ads to an average of 11.25 minutes per hour.
Despite the help from organizations, parents are not limited to these suggestions. “There was a campaign in Washington Heights”, says Thomas O'Hanlon, a mass communications professor of CUNY-Lehman College, “People demanded bodegas to sell 1%, 2% and skim milk because they learned that regular milk had high fat.” Parents can help children with self-control. Despite these advertising overdoses, no one is shoving Happy Meals and sundaes down these kids’ throats. “There’s a difference between legal and ethical,” said O’Hanlon. “Smoking is legal. alcohol is legal. eating chocolate from the time you wake up to the time you sleep. it’s legal, but is it right? No.” It’s important that kids are cautious of what they stuff in their mouths. “It’s all about personal responsibility,” said Tree, “especially the parents. Kids don’t know.” Kids don’t know the ingredients of the junk food they eat, which mostly contain high fat, sugar and salt. “Some children are sensitive to foods,” said Tree. “The pink stuff [in Nesquik strawberry-flavored milk] had antibiotics and makes kids hyperactive.”
Some of children’s television networks are designed to encourage children to become more active and eat healthy, like Nickelodeon’s “Let’s Just Play” campaign, which was launched in 2003 and The Center for Science and the Public Interest’s “1% or Less” campaign. However, these contributions should not be the only efforts. Ask any student, and they’ll tell you how nasty school lunch is. School is another form of bad food advertising, as they serve greasy fries, raw hamburgers and cheesy pizzas. “The crap being served in schools, how can you expect kids to eat healthy?” asked Tree. “Feed decent foods and they’ll pay attention to what’s good.”
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