I bet you're never going to guess what this week's column is about.
It's not what you think. That business with the Ball State butt slapper has gotten pretty stale, I might say. Everyone has his or her own opinion about it. I'll just say that whatever your opinion, think about my article from a few weeks ago regarding social networking and job hunting before you decide to express that opinion online.
Now, let's start the week off fresh, shall we?
Last week, in my Media Ethics course, we reviewed a case study where a (fictional) advertising watchdog group received complaints from consumers about fast food and junk food companies targeting children in their advertising. Childhood obesity was the issue.
The question on my mind: Are the fast food and junk food industries truly responsible for obesity in today's kids?
Keep in mind that roughly 17 percent of adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17 are overweight according to the American Heart Assocation. Should we really be blaming McDonald's and Burger King for making our children pudgy little porkers?
My answer, after considering it for a good two seconds, was a resounding "no." I'm placing the blame on the parents here.
Why? Because parents act as the gatekeepers of what their children consume. Parents can monitor any media their children have access to, including the advertisements they view. Does that sound hard? You bet it is. Impractical? Very.
That's where another oft-overlooked (at least in this day and age) parental responsibility comes into play: The ability to say no.
It's that easy. Does your son want a Twinkie? Say no and give him an apple. Does your daughter want a Happy Meal? Yes, but probably just for the Barbie toy inside anyway. Just nix that and give her a turkey sandwich.
What about those moments where the parental ability to veto any demands for junk food doesn't work so well? Do you expect your kid to just take "no" for an answer? Probably not, and that's where a lot of parents fail.
If a kid whines or begs over and over again when she doesn't get her Ding Dongs, it's absolutely critical how one reacts. If you cave in to stop the crying, you're positively reinforcing that behavior by rewarding that child to get them to stop asking. What happens? The child will repeat said behavior in order to get similar results in the future.
It sounds like a no-brainer. Sadly, a lot of parents fall victim to the "nag factor" as it's called. According to a survey commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream, the average American child between the ages of 12 and 17 will ask their parents an average of nine times to purchase something they've seen advertised until those parents finally give in. About 10 percent of 12- to 13-year-olds admitted to asking upwards of 50 times for advertised products.
Some parents seem unable to tolerate constant nagging for food and toys. What happens when that reflects in their children's weight? A lawsuit.
Thankfully, some of these get thrown out, such as a 2002 lawsuit filed against McDonald's. The plaintiff's attorney argued that McDonald's used "deceptive practices in the advertising, processing and sale of foods, including Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken Sandwich, french fries and hamburgers."
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet's response? The plaintiffs were unable to show how the food was "dangerous in any way other than that which was open and obvious to a reasonable consumer."
This isn't to say that a company not being open about the nutritional value of its food is a good thing. In recent years, restaurants like McDonald's have started printing the nutritional information of its products right on the packaging. At least they know how to save their butts.
Anthony B. Bradley, of the Action Institute, summed it up in an article regarding the responsibility of parents in this issue.
"Children learn good or bad eating habits actively, through parental oversight, or passively, through parental neglect.
"I had no idea that children ages 3 to 11 watch fast-food and junk food advertising on television, drive themselves to fast food restaurants, using money earned from working forty hours a week and their debit cards to stuff themselves on extra-large fries. I had no idea that kids 12 to 18 years old arrived at adolescence and randomly adopted unhealthy eating habits that were contrary to what was normalized during early childhood."
Write to Andrew at ajkidd@bsu.edu.
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