Cartoon Villians should be Banned!!

cartoonvillians

Which! magazine say the above should be banned? What are your thoughts?

Yeah, blame the Trix rabbit for your three year old weighing 120 pounds.  Parents need to stop searching for a scapegoat and just properly educate themselves on nutrition for themselves and their kids.

Agreed CD I mean poor Tony the Tiger!

Actually, I agree with the move. It really bothers me how the marketers market specifically to children. Hey, kids, says Tony the Tiger, eat my cereal, and you'll be Grrrrreat!

I'm for banning marketing to children and letting parents be the ones who teach children how to eat, instead of the TV.

I don't like the idea of regulatory bodies banning things.  I like the idea of parents controlling what goes on in households.  I had to stop my daughter from watching Animal Planet.  The shows are great, but they show ads for upcoming shows which are inappropriate - guns, violence, and sex - don't forget to watch at 9:00 kids!!! This at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Nah HK! I mean I grew up with many of these characters, as did everyone else in my age group and above, and I have to say that there was no where near the same level of childhood obesity then as there is now. I think there are so many other things to blame than cartoon characters.

Like: cost of healthy foods, computer games, fast food industry, kids being allowed to sit in front of the tv for hours and hours and yes the parents!

Original Post by laura42:

I don't like the idea of regulatory bodies banning things.  I like the idea of parents controlling what goes on in households. 

So do you, as a parent, think you're on a level playing field? Who helps your daughter decide what to eat? You? Or Tony the Tiger?

Original Post by hkellick:

Original Post by laura42:

I don't like the idea of regulatory bodies banning things.  I like the idea of parents controlling what goes on in households. 

So do you, as a parent, think you're on a level playing field? Who helps your daughter decide what to eat? You? Or Tony the Tiger?

 I do.  When we are in the cereal isle they ask for trix, apple jax, fruit loops, etc, and they get cheerios.  We talk about healthy choices all the time.  Hopefully when they are old enough to make eating choices on their own, some of what I said will stick. 

Laura, the example you set is top class well done you I say :)

Thanks!

HK:  My childhood was bleak enough, so you're for taking away all those cereal cartoon characters that were my only source of hope?  Shame on you.

:D

I stand by my beliefs. I applaud laura for being in charge of her family and what they eat, but alot of parents aren't. My parents weren't.

I think it's wrong to market to children, because of their suspectability to it and the fact that, unlike adults, children aren't likely to understand why Grimace and the Hamburgler and Captain Crunch MIGHT be leading them to a life of obesity.

Tell me, do you support Joe Camel? I remember when Joe Camel was banned because critics also thought that he, too, marketted to children.

That is just ridiculous.  This has been their marketing campaigns since the 50's.   Were there as many obese kids back then? Of course not.  Because kids played outside and got their exercise.   

Nowadays we're too afraid to let our kids go out. It's too easy for them to plop down in front of the TV/video game/computer.  We're too "busy" to go out with them and get our own exercise.  And the schools have all but done away with P.E.  My daughter is in middle school.  They have a 50 minute PE class.  After taking away 10 minutes at each end for dressing out, they have 30 minutes.  And what do they do? Line Dance.  Boy, that sure breaks a sweat, huh? 

And, so what if they market to the kids anyway?  Do the kids do the grocery shopping? No, the parents do.  I bring home a "sweet" cereal maybe once a month, and it is a treat for Saturday AM only.  The rest of the week she eats either oatmeal of a PB and banana sandwich before school.  So it's the parents to blame, not the companies.

How can you even get overweight from those cereals? Are these kids eating 18 bowls a day or something? One bowl for breakfast of any of these cereals is not going to cause obesity.

But then again, Cheerios is my favorite cereal. :3

HK I personally don't hold cigarettes in the same category as cereals.

There is just too much reliance by parents now to expect everyone else to parent their kids, they are the parents so it's their responsibility. It's just been on the news here that kids 5-7 yrs are to get free school meals to ensure that they have at least one healthy meal per day, Seriously! So now it's down to schools to ensure kids healthy eating!

I in no way grudge those kids a healthy meal, school meals should be healthy anyway, but to ensure that they get one lot of healthy food per day!!

I have to say that it is reassuring to read that the parents who have replied here are in control of what goes into their children's diets, well done all of you :)

Original Post by hkellick:

Original Post by laura42:

I don't like the idea of regulatory bodies banning things.  I like the idea of parents controlling what goes on in households. 

So do you, as a parent, think you're on a level playing field? Who helps your daughter decide what to eat? You? Or Tony the Tiger?

 I think parents are totally responsible for teaching their children. When my son was little and we'd go through the cereal aisle, he'd ask for the various cereals that had cartoon characters. He knew who they were. I'd look at him and tell him I wasn't going to pay $4.00 for a box of fluffy sugar. Then I'd buy Cheerios, Kix, Rasin Bran, Corn & Rice Chex, etc.

He never got a box of the sugary stuff until after he was 4 years old. Then I only bought them a couple of times a year and they were served as a treat.

It's really not very hard to teach your children how to eat. I also never served him white bread. He never got poptarts for breakfast. He was born in1987 and many of the foods people are blaming for childhood obesity were around then. The same type of advertising was going on then.

It's all about actually parenting, which means you are responsible for what kinds of foods you buy and prepare for your children.

Original Post by cptbunny:

How can you even get overweight from those cereals? Are these kids eating 18 bowls a day or something? 

Thank you!  Even a "large" serving of say, Froot Loops (which still gets a respectable B- from CC, BTW), is only about 150 calories, you add milk, and it's about 250. And even if a kid is eating a box of that cereal a day, it's not the mascot that's buying the stuff. 

What troubles me about the story is this quote:

"If the industry fails to act, the Government must step in."

(Emphasis mine) What about, oh, I don't know...the PARENTS stepping in?  If they're not doing it, then educate them, for crying out loud.  The Government is not a nanny.

Original Post by hkellick:

I stand by my beliefs. I applaud laura for being in charge of her family and what they eat, but alot of parents aren't. My parents weren't.

I think it's wrong to market to children, because of their suspectability to it and the fact that, unlike adults, children aren't likely to understand why Grimace and the Hamburgler and Captain Crunch MIGHT be leading them to a life of obesity.

Tell me, do you support Joe Camel? I remember when Joe Camel was banned because critics also thought that he, too, marketted to children.

 so, because some indiviuals do not take responsiblity we have to legislate advertising. instead of our governement spending $ to enforce this type of law why not use it to educate everyone about healthy living. (not that i totally agree with the education they are doing now, but of the two options...) or would you rather the governement tell you how to live all of your life?

yes, i support Camel's right to use a cartoon camel for advertising. not only was i a child while he was around, i also lived in a smoking household. i never looked at Joe Camel and thought "Wow, I can be cool just like him!" i did take a few hits off a couple of my dad's "borrowed" cigarettes, but they tasted nasty and made me cough. no fun there and most definitely didn't make me look cool.  :op

What always bothers me about these kinds of suggestions is that they insult the people that don't need nannying whilst never tackling the people that do.  It's always a sledgehammer to crack a nut.    A responsible parent will not give in to pressure to buy junk, will explain to their child why sugary cereals are not a good choice, and make sure they eat better alternatives.   They'll do that whether or not the product is on the TV.   They'll also make them get out and take part in sports, monitor their PC/game usage, help them get good grades at school... all the other things that make for a healthy, confident child.

Whereas the families with overweight children will carry on treating them in exactly the same way because they don't know any different or they can't afford better or they possibly don't care all that much.  And they need direct, specific advice to help them in their situation.  Not a ban on advertising.

Original Post by satyrswoman:

Original Post by hkellick:

I stand by my beliefs. I applaud laura for being in charge of her family and what they eat, but alot of parents aren't. My parents weren't.

I think it's wrong to market to children, because of their suspectability to it and the fact that, unlike adults, children aren't likely to understand why Grimace and the Hamburgler and Captain Crunch MIGHT be leading them to a life of obesity.

Tell me, do you support Joe Camel? I remember when Joe Camel was banned because critics also thought that he, too, marketted to children.

 so, because some indiviuals do not take responsiblity we have to legislate advertising. instead of our governement spending $ to enforce this type of law why not use it to educate everyone about healthy living. (not that i totally agree with the education they are doing now, but of the two options...) or would you rather the governement tell you how to live all of your life?

Because, clearly, education isn't working. My school educated me.. or at least tried to in nutrition, and the facts are.. they did a crappy job. Most schools do. A school can't teach you something you don't really want to learn.

Americans live in a state of denial. We KNOW what's good for us and bad for us, and we don't CARE because obesity is Someone Else's Problem, or it's a minor problem.

There are more and more people out there making bad decisions. That's why the obesity epidemic is on the rise. If people aren't capable of making the right decisions, then, yes, I think it's a government's job to come in and help them make it. Am I possibly curtailing your freedoms? I won't argue the point.

But suggest something better, or prove to me that banning advertisement AIMED towards children won't make a difference in the fight against obesity.

I'm going to go out on a branch and assume that you're a Libertarian, that you believe that the government doesn't have the right to tell you what to do, how to live. This is something the two of us just aren't going to agree upon. The government DOES tell you what to do and what not to do. That, I believe is at least, in part, what a government is for.

I see truth in both sides of this debate but the whole thing got me thinking.

Look at it this way, there are a lot of really good parents in this country and they're doing their job at teaching their children to make healthy choices and smart decisions in their lives.  But think about how many TERRIBLE parents there are...so many that had kids as a mistake, and that keep having kids when they probably aren't ready to be parents.  All of those kids (except for the ones who end up with good role models like grandparents or mentors) are going to sit in front of the tv and watch tv...because, what else is there to do for a child who has no guidance and no discipline?  So they might watch a lot about tony the tiger, but that has to be the least of their problems...they also probably watch r rated movies and tv shows meant for adults, etc...so these kids are seeing things that are meant to be entertaining to adults, and they're probably thinking, hey, okay, if adults go rob people and break out of jail, why not do whatever I want.  And then they grow into an adult with terrible ideals and then start having children of their own (without being prepared and without much knowledge about what a functional family acts like...cause let's think about this, there are hardly any tv shows anymore showing morals and the difference between right and wrong...i had family matters and full house growing up, where there's always a cheesy ending with some thoughtful moral lesson to be learned).  The cycle is ugly.  Not to mention the 'reality' tv shows...

And what can we do about all of this?  Nothing.  We can't stop putting entertaining television on because of this.  Where did all the moral shows go?  Granted they are super cheesy now taht I watch reruns on nick at night (i can't believe those are the shows on nick and night now..)

So i realize I just compared tony the tiger to television in general, but i think it all plays into a really big cycle.  Education is the key, if you ask me (in schools...good teachers, good after school programs...putting the money into schools that they'd put into trying to get tony the tiger banned).