Preventative advice

Here is some preventative advice regarding the influence of advertising on teens and preteens.

1. Broach the subject when they're young.

   Initiate the discussion while you are listening to the radio or watching television together. Ask your children to comment on the ads that are aired, or ask them to tell you what they feel when they see them and if they make them want to buy the product being advertised.

2. Explain how advertising works.

   The advertiser's job is to make use of people's feelings of insecurity and dissatisfaction. People need to be persuaded that the product will make them happier. What do your teenagers value most? Use concrete examples to help them learn to differentiate between desires and needs.

3. Marketing: learning to identify the tricks of the trade.

   The most effective way to sell a product is to appeal to emotions using sentimental stories. Concepts like "for a limited time" or "improved taste" help create a sense of urgency and curiosity. Humour is also a powerful sales tool; the product may be in the background but the message stays on our mind.

4. Your teenagers: prime advertising targets!

   Cool marketing experts are always looking for new means of seducing young people, and their challenge is to stay ahead of trends and even create them if they can. To be cool, girls must be sexy and attractive and boys must wear shoes of a particular brand. But when it comes right down to it, who decides at what rate and in what direction trends evolve?

5. Food through the eyes of advertisers.

   Food advertising rests principally on fast food, snacks and breakfast cereal with no nutritive value. The images used to advertise food are carefully touched up by artists to look perfect. Messages often have double meanings. Explain to your child, for example, that "real fruit flavour" does not mean that the product contains fruit. Many fast food chains use tie-ins with films or popular TV shows to draw kids into their restaurants.

6. Money and your child.

   To make sound purchasing decisions, it's important that your teens or preteens understand the value of a dollar. Teach them how to manage their money. Discuss the family budget and your spending priorities. By staying consistent and being an example, you'll teach your child to have a healthy and balanced relationship with money and spending.

7. Learning to shop.

   Your kids will need to develop the reflex of comparison shopping, learning about product quality, and reading product warrantees. Make them aware of the consequences of overspending on the environment and on the child labour situation in some countries.

   Revisit the question often, as knowledge creates awareness.