The Commercialization of Childhood, Creative Play, and Children’s Wellbeing

Submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for its

General Comment on Business and the Rights of the Child

by

Susan Linn, Ed.D.

Director, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

www.commercialfreechildhood.org

The African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” is a common and evocative

means of arguing for the necessity of community involvement in child rearing. Care for

children has to extend beyond the immediate family. It also reminds us that children’s

experiences beyond the family—in the neighborhood or community—can have a

powerful impact on their growth and development.

These days, the village raising our children has been transformed by the

unprecedented convergence of sophisticated, increasingly miniaturized screen technology

and unfettered commercialism. As a result, children are bombarded from morning to

night by messages designed—not to make their lives better—but for the sole purpose of

selling something. Health care providers have long known to look beyond the child to

the influence and values of family, neighborhood, and peer group. But now we have to

consider the influence and values of the commercial world as well. The result of the

convergence of leaps forward in technology and steps backwards in corporate regulation

is unprecedented in the lives of children. And while we don’t know yet what kind of

adults this generation of screen-saturated, commercialized children will become, there is

mounting evidence that the impact of this convergence may be harmful. Commercialism

is a factor in many of the public health and social problems facing children today.1

Childhood obesity,2 discontent about body image3 and eating disorders,4 sexualization,5

youth violence,6 family stress,7 underage drinking8 and underage tobacco use9 are all

linked to advertising and marketing. So is the erosion of creative play10—the foundation

of learning, creativity, and the capacity to make meaning of life. 11 And the underlying

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message of commercial marketing—that the things we buy will make us happy—is a

major factor in the acquisition of materialistic values, which have been found to be linked

to depression and low self esteem in children.12

Beyond Commercials: Marketing to Children in the 21st Century

The marketing environment in which kids are growing up today is significantly

different from that experienced by their parents as children. In 1983, corporations spent

1 See Linn, S. (2004). Consuming kids: The hostile takeover of childhood. New York: The New Press.2 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2006). Food marketing to children and youth: Threat or opportunity?, p. 2. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.3 Hargreaves, D. & Tiggemann, M. (2002). The effect of television commercials on mood and body dissatisfaction: The role of appearance-schema activation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 287-308.4 Becker, A. E., Burwell, R. A., Herzog, P. H., & Gilman, S. E. (2002). Eating behaviors and attitudes following prolonged exposure to television among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls. British Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 509-514.5 American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007). Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, p. 3. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved March 25, 2008, from www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html.6 American Academy of Pediatrics (2000, July 26). Joint statement on the impact of entertainment violence on children. Congressional Public Health Summit. Retrieved February 9, 2008 from http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jstmtevc.htm. 7 Buijzen, M. & Valkenburg, P. M. (2003). The effects of television advertising on materialism, parent–child conflict, and unhappiness: A review of research. Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 437–456.8 Federal Trade Commission (1999). Self-regulation in the alcohol industry: Areview of industry efforts to avoid promoting alcohol to underage consumers, p. 4.Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.9 National Cancer Institute (2001, November). Changing adolescent smokingprevalence. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph, No.14, NH Pub. # 02-5086.10 Greenfield, P. M., Yut, M., Chung, M., Land, D., Kreider, H., Pantoja, M., & Horsely, K. (1993). The program-length commercial. In G. Berry & J. Keiko (Eds.), Children and television: Images in a changing sociocultural world (pp. 53-72). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.11 See also Linn, S. (2008). The case for make believe: Saving play in a commercialized world. New York: The New Press. 12 Schor, J. (2004). Born to buy, p. 167. New York: Scribner.

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$100 million annually in direct advertising to children in the United States alone.13 Now

it is estimated that they spend about $17 billion.14

Today, huge corporate conglomerates own television and radio stations, web

businesses and film studios and successfully insert screen time into the lives of an

increasingly younger audience. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends

discouraging screen time for children under the age of 2,15 yet 90% of parents say that

their infants and toddlers regularly consume some sort of electronic media, 40% of 3-

month-old babies in the United States regularly “watch” television and DVDs for an

average of 45 minutes a day,16 and 19% of babies under the age of 1 have a TV set in

their bedroom.17 There is a very little research available on the impact of screen time on

babies, but the research that does exist suggests that there is little evidence that children

under two learn anything useful from screens.18 One study suggests that content viewed

may have an impact on language learning,19 but others show that screens are simply not

an effective means of promoting language development for children under 2.20 There is

also some evidence that screen time may be harmful for babies.21 Studies suggest that

early screen use can be habit-forming 22 and is negatively associated with cognitive

13 Schor, J. (2004). Born to buy, p. 21. New York: Scribner.14 James McNeil quoted in Horovitz, B. (2006, November 22). Six strategies marketers use to make kids want things bad. USA Today, p. 1B. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2006-11-21-toy-strategies-usat_x.htm

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development,23 regular sleep patterns,24 and language acquisition.25 The more babies and

toddlers engage with screens, the less time they spend in creative play and interacting

with parents—two activities known to be educational.26

Television is still the primary venue for advertising to children, but Internet

marketing through computers and hand-held devices like MP3 players is escalating, as is

text-message marketing on cell phones. Nick.com, the website belonging to the

15 American Academy of Pediatrics (2011). Media use by children younger than 2 years. Pediatrics, 128(5), 1-7.16 Zimmerman F. J. , Christakis D. A., & Meltzoff A. N. (2007). Television and DVD/video viewing in children younger than 2 years. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 161(5), 473-479.17 Rideout, V. & Hamel, E. (2007). The media family: Electronic media in the lives of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents, p. 26. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation.18 Anderson, D. & Pempek, T. (2005). Television and very young children. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 505-522. 19 Linebarger, D. L. &Walker, D. (2005). Infants’ and toddlers’ television viewing and language outcomes. American Behavioral Scientist, 48, 624-645.20 Krcmar, D., Grela, B., & Lin, K. (2007). Can toddlers learn vocabulary from television? An experimental approach. Media Psychology, 10(1), 41-63; Kuhl, P. K., Tsaw, F., & Liu, H. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 100, 9096-9101; Robb, M., Richert, R., & Wartella, E (2009). Just a talking book? Word learning from watching baby videos. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27(1), 27-45.21 Anderson, D. R. & Pempek, T. A. (2005). Television and very young children. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5), 505–522.22 Certain, L. K. & Kahn, R. S. (2002). Correlates and trajectory of television viewing among infants and toddlers. Pediatrics, 109, 634-642.23 Zimmerman, F. & Christakis, D. (2005). Children's television viewing and cognitive outcomes: A longitudinal analysis of national data. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 159(7), 619-625. 24 Thompson, D. A. & Christakis, D. (2005). The association between television viewing and irregular sleep schedules among children less than 3 years of age. Pediatrics, 116, 851-856. 25 Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007). Associations between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years, The Journal of Pediatrics, 151(4), 364-368.26 Vandewater, E. A., Bickham, D. S., & Lee, J. H. (2006). Time well spent? Relating television use to children’s free-time activities. Pediatrics, 117(2), 181–191.

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internationally popular children’s cable station, Nickelodeon, took in $9.6 million

between July, 2004 and July, 2005—more advertising revenue than any other site.27 In

fact, as digital technology becomes more sophisticated, TV and the Internet are merging

to become a whole new interactive media and marketing experience for children.

Although children see thousands of commercials each year on television alone, modern

marketing methods extend well beyond the traditional 30 second ads. The marketing

industry is still creating TV commercials aimed at children, but companies are expanding

their reach through a variety of other techniques.

Probably the most popular and effective method for marketing to young children

is brand licensing, when a media image is sold to other companies in order to market

toys, food, clothing and accessories. Most children’s media characters have become tools

for marketing other products. About 97% of children under 6 in the United States own

something—such as a doll, stuffed animal, action figure, bedding, or clothing—that

features the image of a character from the media.28 It is increasingly difficult to find any

products for children, from food to toys, that are unadorned by media characters and

logos. Today, even children’s books are often media linked. As a result, children’s play,

reading, art and music are primarily shaped by pre-created characters, plots, and themes.

What were once tools for self-expression are now designed to remind children constantly

of media programs and their products, teaching them to value that which can be bought

over their own creations.

27 Shields, M. (2005, July 25), Web-based marketing to kids on the rise. MediaWeek. Retrieved August 14, 2005 from http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000990382.28 Rideout,V., Vanderwater, E., & Wartella, E. (2003). Electronic media in the lives of infants, toddlers and preschoolers, p. 28. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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Commercialism and the Erosion of Creative Play

Among the most troubling ramifications of allowing marketers unfettered access

to children is the erosion of creative play, which is central to healthy development. Play

is both culturally universal and fundamental to children’s wellbeing—and is listed as a

guaranteed right in Article 31 of the United Nation’s 1989 Convention on the Rights of

the Child.29 Play is critical to healthy development, and ensuring children’s right to play

is an essential building block toward a sustainable world.

The ability to play creatively is central to our capacity to experiment, to act rather

than react, and to differentiate ourselves from our environment. It is how children

wrestle with life and make it meaningful. Spirituality, and advances in science and art,

are all rooted in play. Play promotes attributes essential to a democratic populace, such

as curiosity, reasoning, empathy, sharing, cooperation, and a sense of competence—a

belief that we can make a difference in the world. Constructive problem-solving,

divergent thinking, and the capacity for self-regulation are all developed through creative

play.30

Children at play may enthusiastically conjure cookies out of thin air or talk with

creatures no one else can see, yet they still remain grounded in the “real” world. Once

children develop the capacity for simultaneously recognizing an object for what it is and

what it could be, they are able to alter the world around them to further their dreams and

hopes, and to conquer their fears. When children are given the time and opportunity, they

turn spontaneously to “pretend play” to make sense of their experience, to cope with

29 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1989, November 20). Convention on the rights of the child: General assembly resolution 44/25. Retrieved July 11, 2011 from www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm.

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adversity, and to try out and rehearse new roles. They also develop the capacity to use

pretend play as a tool for healing, self-knowledge, and growth.

We have traditionally assumed that when children have leisure time, they are

engaged in some kind of self-directed, or “free,” play, the motivation for which generates

from within, rather than from external forces. But for the first time in history, the most

common activity for children around the world is watching television.31 In Vietnam, 91

percent of mothers report that their children watch television often, as do more than 80

percent of mothers in Argentina, Brazil, India, and Indonesia.32

In the United States, children spend more time in front of screens than in any

other activity besides sleeping. Preschool children spend about 32 hours a week in front

of screens.33 Including multitasking, children ages 8 - 18 spend average of 4 ½ hours per

day watching television, 1½ hours using computers, and more than an hour

30 Winnicott, D. (1971). Playing and reality, pp. 53-64. New York: Basic Books; Linn, S. (2008). The case for make believe: Saving play in a commercialized world, pp. 85-153. New York: The New Press; Lillard, A. (2001). Pretend play as twin earth: A social-cognitive analysis. Developmental Review, 21(4) 495–531; Burns, S. M. & Brainard, C. (1979). Effects of constructive and dramatic play on perspective taking in very young children. Developmental Psychology, 5(5), 512–21; Singer, D. (2002). Team building in the classroom. Early Childhood Today,16, 37–41; Wyver, S. R. & Spence, S. H. (1999). Play and divergent problem solving: Evidence supporting a reciprocal relationship. Early Education and Development, 10(4), 419–44; Russ, S., Robins, A. L., and Christaino, B. A. (1999). Pretend play: Longitudinal prediction of creativity and affect in fantasy in children. Creativity Research Journal, 12(2), 129–139; Bodrova, E. & Leong, D. (2006). Self-regulation as a key to school readiness: How early childhood teachers can promote this critical competency. In  M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.), Critical issues in early childhood professional development (pp. 203-224). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.31 Singer, D. G., Singer, J. L., D’Agostino, H. & DeLong, R. (2009). Children’s pastimes and play in sixteen nations: Is free-play declining? American Journal of Play, Winter 2009, 283–312.32 Ibid.33 The Nielsen Company (2009). TV viewing among kids at an eight-year high. Retrieved July 19, 2010 from http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/tv-viewing-among-kids-at-an-eight-year-high/.

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playing video games—more than 7 hours a day.34

Research tells us that the more young children engage with screens, the less time

they spend in creative play. 35 There is some evidence that some screen media can

encourage children to play creatively.36 But when screens dominate children’s lives—

regardless of content—they are a threat, not an enhancement, to creativity, play, and

make-believe.37 The more time children have to nurture and develop their own

interpretations of media content, the more likely they are to move beyond the electronic

script they’ve viewed.38 But if children are constantly in front of screens, when do they

have time to explore and develop any thoughts, feelings, and ideas that media content

might engender?

When it comes to being a springboard for creativity, screen media is less effective

than radio and books primarily because it requires less from us. Reading requires us to

imagine both aural and visual images. Radio provides sound, but still necessitates that

we imagine what the story looks like.39 Screen media does all of that work for us and, in

addition, seems to be an aid in remembering content,40 which means they can

simultaneously be helpful to certain kinds of learning and inhibit rather than promote

imagination.

34 Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds. Kaiser Family Foundation.35 Vanderwater, E. A., Bickham, D. S. & Lee, J. H. (2006). Time well spent? Relating television use to children’s free-time activities. Pediatrics, 117(2), 181–191.36 Singer, D. G. & Singer, J. L. (1990). The house of make-believe: Play and the developing imagination, pp. 177-198. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.37

For a good review of the literature on television and make-believe, see Valkenberg, P. (2001) TV and the child’s developing imagination, In D. G. Singer & J. L. Singer (Eds.) Handbook of children and the media, (pp. 121-134). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

38? Götz, M. Lemish, D., Moon, H. & Aidman, A. (2005). Media and the make-believe worlds of children: When Harry Potter meets Pokémon in Disneyland. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

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The fact that it is now possible to view programs on DVDs, MP3 players, and cell

phones, as well as on TiVo and other home recording devices that provide programming

“on demand,” makes multiple viewings of the same program a new fact of children’s

lives. Across platforms, electronic screens are the primary means for marketers to target

children. Loveable media characters, cutting-edge technology, brightly colored

packaging, and well-funded marketing strategies combine in coordinated campaigns to

capture the hearts, minds, and imaginations of children—teaching them to value that

which can be bought over their own make-believe creations.

Today, more than ever, children need the time, space, tools, and silence essential

for developing their capacities for curiosity, creativity, self-reflection, and meaningful

engagement in the world. But when consumerism and materialistic values dominate

society, creative play is no longer valued. The toys that nurture imagination—blocks, art

supplies, dolls, and stuffed animals free of computer chips and links to media—can be

used repeatedly and in a variety of ways, diminishing the need to spend money on new

toys. In other words, creative play enriches the lives of children, but not corporate

profits.

The electronic wizardry characterizing today’s best-selling toys makes for great

advertising campaigns. They look like fun. But they are created with a kind of planned

obsolescence. They are not typically designed with the goal of engaging children for

years, or even months. They are designed to sell. If interest wanes, so much the better—

39? See Vibbert, M. M. & Meringoff, L. K. (1981). Children’s production and application of story imagery: A cross-medium investigation. Technical Report, 23. Cambridge, MA: Project Zero, Harvard University. See also Valkenberg, P. M. (2001). Television and the child’s developing imagination. In D. G. Singer & J. L. Singer (Eds.) Handbook of children and the media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

40? Anderson, D. R. (1998). Television is not an oxymoron. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 557, 24–38.

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another version will soon be on the market. Toys that talk and chirp and do back flips all

on their own take much of the creativity, and therefore the value, from play activities.

Brand-licensed toys are an especially large business, bringing in an estimated $6.2

billion in 2007 just in the United States.41 Toys that represent familiar media characters

whose voices, actions, and personalities are already in place rob children of opportunities

to exercise their own creativity—especially if kids are familiar with the program on

which the character is based. Unless we find ways to prevent marketers from targeting

children, we can expect children’s play activities to foster imitation, reactivity, and

dependence on screens rather than creativity, self-initiation, and active exploration.

The Role of Government

There’s no getting around the fact that government policies, or lack thereof, have

contributed to the fact that we are raising children in the middle of a marketing

maelstrom aimed directly at them. Around the world, policies created and policies

defeated by conservatives, progressives and centrists have enabled marketers to target

children, as have policies endorsed and condemned by the extreme right and left.

Prohibiting marketing to children may seem extreme. It isn’t—but marketing to children

is. The United States regulates marketing to children less than most other industrial

democracies. For instance in Brazil, while these laws are rarely enforced, advertising that

profits from the immature judgment and inexperience of children is banned, as is

advertising that can lead consumers to behave in ways that are harmful to their health.42

The Province of Quebec bans marketing to children under 13.43 Sweden and

Norway ban television marketing to children under the age of 12.44 Greece prohibits ads

41 Brand-licensed toys at $6.2 billion from author interview with Anita Frazier, Toy Industry Analyst, NPD Group, New York. September 11, 2009. 42 Brazilian Consumer Defense Code of 1990, Article 37.

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for toys on television between 7AM and 10PM; ads for toy guns and tanks are not allowed

at any time.45 In the Flemish speaking areas of Belgium, no advertising is allowed within

five minutes of a children’s television program shown on a local station.46 Advertising

regulations proposed by the European Union would ban commercials suggesting that

children’s acceptance by peers is dependent on their use of a product.47 Finland bans

advertisements that are delivered by children or by familiar cartoon characters.48 The

French government recently prohibited all vending machines in middle and secondary

schools49 and recently banned television programming that targets children under 3.50 In

Britain, the BBC stopped using its beloved cartoon characters to market unhealthy food

to children in 2004.51 A few years later, Ofcom, the British regulatory agency, banned

television junk food advertising on children’s shows and on adult programs popular with

children.52

Conclusion

Reflected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the belief that children

have a basic right to live in environments that promote their social, emotional and

intellectual wellbeing. They have the right to grow up, and parents have the right to raise

them, without being undermined by commercial interests. Around the world, the village

raising our children is increasingly dominated by a marketing-driven, media saturated

culture that has a powerful and negative impact on many aspects of children’s lives.

Recent history tells us that it’s unrealistic to think that multi-national corporations

are going to adopt self-regulatory policies that limit marketing to children. This year in

the United States, for instance, food industry lobbying undermined the government’s

efforts to issue even voluntary guidelines for child-targeted food marketing.53 The

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General Comment on Business and the Rights of the Child must urge governments to

support parents’ efforts to raise healthy families by creating policies that limit, rather than

facilitate, commercial access to children.

43 Rivard, N. & LeBlanc P. (2000, May 8). Advertising to kids in Quebec no picnic. Strategy, p. B10.44 Briggs, B. (2003, February 1). Wallace hints at ban on junk food adverts as the best way to fight obesity among young. The Herald, p. A1.45 Rowan, D. (2002, October 18). Hard sell, soft targets. The London Times, p. 2, 6. 46 Ibid.47 Metherwell, M. (2003, June 19). EU Commission targets unfair businesses practices. The Sydney Morning Herald, p.3.48 Hawkes C. (2003). Marketing food to children: The global regulatory environment. Geneva: World Health Organization.49 Taylor, P. (2004, August 6). Liberty, equality, fraternity . . . obesity? The Globe and Mail, p. A11.50 Oliver, C. (2008, August 20). France bans broadcast of TV shows for babies. Associated Press. Retrieved November 21, 2008 from http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/news/2008/08/france_bans_babytv.htm.51 BBC to limit ties to junk food. (2004, April 6). The Wall Street Journal, p. D5.52 Sweeny, M. (2008, November 16). Total ban on junk food advertising to children. The Guardian. Retrieved November 26, 2008 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/nov/17/health.food.

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53 Bittman, M. (2012, March 27). The right to sell kids junk. New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2012 from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/the-right-to-sell-kids-junk/.

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