Think about how many commercials children view. Now, on top of that, add all of the other marketing outlets such as the radio, the internet and even at school! Everywhere your children go, they are being bombarded with companies trying to  get them, and eventually you, to buy their product. Here are just a few stats:

With so much emphasis on marketing, there has been a huge affect on children’s health status.

• Children are eating more food away from home, drinking more soft drinks, and snacking more frequently.
• On average, children obtain 50% of their calories from fat or added sugar.
• 15% of U.S. youth are overweight.
• Two thirds of children have at least one cardiovascular risk factor.

So you might ask what is being done, right? Here is a list of some of the efforts trying to curb child targeted advertising:

• 1990- Children’s advocacy groups persuaded Congress to pass the Children’s Television Act that included limiting the amount of commercial time during children’s programming to10.5 minutes per hour of weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays.
• School districts in Oakland, CA banned all school sales of soda and candy. In the same year, Los Angeles Unified School District, which included 667 schools and 736,000 students, voted to ban the sales of soft drinks in vending machines.

What you can do for your child:

• Limit TV time and shows watched (some shows tend to have more advertisements).
• Limit time spent at fast food restaurants.
• Encourage children to drink water over buying soda from vending machines.
• Stop buying brand name foods, substituting healthier, more practical foods.
• Encourage healthy eating habits and establish good food choices while they are still young and impressionable.

Neat Solutions can also help you out! We have tons of fun, creative ways to let your child make healthy decisions for him/herself! Here are just a few items we know will work for you: