The danger from the child likes to watch advertisements

Did you know that the fast food industry has a strategy to shift towards children, even as young as two years old. Children like to watch ads for fast food increased by a third more than six to seven years ago, preschoolers even watch 21 percent more.

A recent study found that after watching a fast food ad, children and adults were more likely to eat more whether they felt hungry or not. The fact that you show your baby the kinds of advertisements that unintentionally stimulate your child's snacking, especially making them focus on fried foods, sugar-filled confectionery ... that are not good for health, appear more and more on television. Youtube. How can you help your child limit time to watch commercials and keep a weight that is appropriate for their age?

A good way to help limit the time your baby sees ads

“You should limit your child's television viewing time, even online,” said a family life educator at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls, Dakota. This will automatically reduce the number of ads your baby can see. For example, you schedule the whole family to watch TV for about 30 minutes after a meal, then go for a walk together and get ready for bed. This way, you can both limit the hours of watching ads, while sitting with your children to control what they are watching.

For children under 2 years old, a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics frankly advises parents: “You should always stop watching TV and internet for children under 2 years old. For older children, the family only allows them to watch no more than 2 hours a day ”.

Additionally, you can limit your child's exposure to unhealthy food ads by showing your child how to fast forward each time it appears. Children will be very excited to be experimenting with fast forwarding on a computer or television.

Watch ads with your child to control what they are watching

Don't leave your baby on the sofa with the remote in hand and wear whatever they like. You should sit next to your child to explain what is good, what is needed to flip through another channel or fast forward because it is harmful.

No matter how delicious the food on the poster looks, you need to let your baby know that not all of the foods are healthy. Ideally, mothers teach children: "Food at home cooked by mothers is really safe and nutritious."

However, when you first teach your child to "quit" advertising, you cannot be too strict because it takes a few days for your child to adapt. Cut down the time you watch commercials, replace it with family time or do light exercise together. With fast food, you can feed your baby a little over the weekend.

Instruct your child on how to evaluate advertisements so that they can distinguish which programs are harmful to health

When you watch an advertisement with your child, use the opportunity to analyze the information, turning it into a lecture on food. You should encourage your baby to practice evaluating the amount of nutrients in each food or help him find nutritious menus. For example, instead of asking for hamburgers, fried foods or soda, you can tell your child to replace them with much healthier milk, fruit or other vegetables.

Here are a few ways to analyze different types of food ads, depending on your child's age:

Preschoolers: you and your child play a coloring game with a food ad on TV. For example, when there is an advertisement for vegetable juice, you ask your baby if this is "green food" and stipulate that "green food" is something we can eat a lot because it helps us to be healthy. stronger. For cakes, snacks, and hambugers, label them gold and explain to them that this is a high-fat, sugar-rich one; and the red color is for children who absolutely should not be tried. When it comes to advertising for what food, you help your child distinguish the healthy or not by colors.

Primary school kids: You encourage your child to think about how brands make us feel like buying their stuff and relate to the pros or cons of the food. For example, they often use pictures of funny and cute animals. You can ask your child: "The commercial with a calf is about what can help you grow taller?". Thus, you are stimulating your baby's curiosity and association.

12-year-olds: you can quiz your child on things that are not mentioned in the ad to make them think more. For example, you ask your child: "In your opinion, what has not been mentioned in this fried chicken?", From which you instruct your child what ingredients are good and not good for them.

Teenagers: you should talk about things like the nutritional value of food and show them how to read the ingredients on the label. Explain to your child that the idols appearing in the advertisements are not sure to have experienced those products. You may want to drink lots of energy drinks to get in shape like your favorite athlete is playing in the commercial. Teach your child that in fact, how much kcal a child needs to supplement each day and how hard to exercise, the amount of sugar in the energy drink only makes him gain weight but he cannot make his muscles grow. sure.

Promotional clips aren't always harmful. They help children distinguish, compare many things, enhance their imagination and create with bright and fun colors. However, parents need to help children understand and choose the foods that appear in the advertisements that are suitable for the child's physical condition.