As soon as another commercial starts on TV, does your child run as fast as he can to the screen and watch as if spellbound? We decided to tell young parents why children love watching advertising so much. Is this not dangerous and is it normal from a developmental point of view? Let's figure it out together.

Young children have a very weak fixation of attention: the child is not able to get carried away by something long time, for example for 3-5 minutes. He will throw away any toy after half a minute to do something else. No cartoon or especially film lasts this long a short time. But commercials, on the contrary, last on TV for about twenty to thirty seconds. In commercials there is almost always high dynamics - the action develops actively, the characters are constantly moving, performing various actions. Children of the younger age perceive advertising as information. Moreover, beautifully packaged, bright and affordable. The child does not get tired of such short stories, and he does not get bored with them. That's why young children love to watch commercials on TV.

From the point of view of modern psychology, there is, in principle, nothing terrible about a child watching advertising. The other extreme is dangerous here - when a child spends all his free time in front of the TV. Still, it is better for a child to jump, run, read books, draw and sculpt more.

Gastroenterologists and nutritionists warn parents who use the television on as a distraction to force food into their child: there is a danger of becoming a habitual child. As a result, the “TV-food” reflex is formed, which in the long term leads to a loss of control over the amount of food eaten, disruption of metabolic processes and problems of the gastrointestinal tract. And finally, the habit of eating what advertising suggests is unlikely to serve your child's future health well.

And one more important point. Unfortunately, lately the television airwaves have simply been filled with advertisements for things that, according to ethical laws, are not discussed publicly. And children from a very early age already realize that we are talking about something shameful, which only adults know about, but it is better not to ask, “so as not to be scolded.” Moreover, children of this age group are already well aware of the sexual overtones contained in a good half of commercials. They don’t yet know what it means: “All men will be at your feet,” but they feel the erotic spirit contained in the slogan and video clip. Excitement, without receiving a release, is transformed into nervous disorders, causing a whole bunch of various physiological problems - from enuresis to stuttering.

What happens: will a child really always watch advertising?

Not at all. When he gets older, recognizes various images and concepts, gives them verbal (speech) designations, then he will begin to be interested in the world of cartoons. In the meantime, no need to worry. Advertising is not particularly harmful to a baby, but only in doses. After all, it is not customary for us to involve “such a little one” in intensive communication with people, and especially with animals. Child most During the day he lives in a playpen with toys and sees mainly his mother, father or other household members. IN best case scenario there is a dog or cat in the house. However, the child already needs more communication with the world. It is at this time that active cognition begins. And commercials at this stage provide at least some opportunity for this knowledge.

Many parents are concerned about their children's increased interest in television advertising. Why do kids love watching commercials so much and how harmful can it be for their mental health?

A child watches advertising without stopping, or why do children love advertising so much?

Small children cannot fix their attention on any object for a long time, so they quickly lose interest in films and cartoons that last about an hour. But advertising on TV is shown for only a few seconds. It usually contains a dynamic, rapidly developing plot; such information is more easily absorbed by children.

Bright videos with colorful pictures captivate children and never get boring for them. . That is why they so joyfully run to the TV every time they hear the sound of a familiar advertisement and watch it continuously until it ends.

Experts' opinion

Psychologists believe , that this can cause excitement in children, which, without finding a way out, will eventually cause nervous disorders or physiological problems, for example, such as enuresis.

The study also revealed that advertising affects not only the psyche of children, but also their consumer taste, which is why they develop needs that are practically imposed by commercials.

Parents can take their kids with them on a visit, go shopping with them, or on any of their errands. Preschoolers should study the world, and not spend all your free time in front of the TV. Children whose information vacuum is filled do not feel the need to watch commercials, even if they demonstrate children's products, for example, diapers or toys.

Personal experience

1. As soon as my two-year-old son heard the sounds of advertising, he immediately ran headlong to the TV . I no longer knew what to do, it was impossible to tear him away from what was happening on the screen until all the videos ended. I managed to change him and feed him, and all this time he did not take his eyes off the TV. I had to be firm and limit the time I watch programs now. I let the baby watch cartoons for about ten minutes, after which I turn off the TV.
2. My daughter is 10 months old and her favorite thing to do is watch TV commercials. . At this moment she freezes and does not react in any way to those around her. I even tried to block the screen with myself, it’s all useless, my daughter, she crawls over me and continues to watch. Now I'm in daytime I don’t turn on the TV at all; it’s better to take a walk with the baby at this time or play some games with her.

Many parents notice that their child rushes to the TV when commercials are shown there. The baby watches them as if spellbound and sometimes does not react to the comments of others. Why is advertising for children so attractive? Does it pose a potential danger?

Why does advertising attract children so much?

Children begin to experience an interest in advertising from an early age; sometimes even infants are fascinated by it. This is not surprising, because entire agencies are working on the creation of these videos, puzzled by the desire to attract consumers in every way.

Video: a little girl's curious reaction to an advertisement

How harmful can commercials be for children?

1. Harmful to children's vision. But this can be attributed generally to watching television content.
2. Children quickly remember advertising phrases and sometimes stop communicating normally - they often use them without reason.
3. Formation of unhealthy consumer behavior. A child of conscious age begins to demand from his parents to buy harmful products(chips, etc.), because advertising presents them in a very attractive light. Children who have seen enough advertising subsequently become full-fledged buyers. And impressions from the television screen influence the choice of goods in the store - a person tends to buy well-known brands, even if he is not completely satisfied with the quality of the product (for example, he looks not at the composition of a chocolate bar, but at its packaging, which is familiar through advertising). The famous logo “sinks into the soul” and turns into a part of a person’s life. In addition, having watched enough tempting stories advertising fast food restaurants as a child, adults take their children there instead of feeding them a healthy home-cooked lunch or dinner.
   
4. Advertising can increase children's aggressiveness and increase the excitability of children. Older schoolchildren are interested in the tricks demonstrated there, hazardous to health, and risky scientific experiments. After all, the psychological purpose of such videos is to inspire a feeling of pleasure caused by the purchase of a certain product. And children give in to their desires much more easily than adults.
5. In the videos, children can see and hear things of an erotic nature (advertising for condoms, potency stimulants, etc.). This is deposited on a subconscious level, and in impressionable children it can cause neurological problems (enuresis, stuttering, etc.). Older children perceive everything they see literally, understanding the sexual context. This is how teenage girls internalize distorted concepts of morality: they subconsciously want to be like the sexy heroines of advertising stories. Boys like to identify themselves with brutal characters (macho), who are also not moral.
6. Some parents take advantage of their child's fascination with advertising to feed him. As a result, a stable “TV-food” reflex arises. This is fraught with digestive problems and metabolic disorders.
7. Spending a lot of time in front of the TV, the baby neglects useful activities: physical activity, reading, creativity, communication with peers.
8. Some Western videos operate on the principle of neurolinguistic programming (subconsciously instilling certain thoughts in a person). It can have an unpredictable effect on the fragile psyche of a child. In most cases, this does not apply to domestic videos, but it’s still better to be on the safe side.

Video: the impact of advertising on children and adolescents

Video: Advertising forces unhealthy eating habits on children

Of course, television advertising attracts children. However, it can cause some harm to their health. To fill the need for information, it is necessary to saturate the child’s life with real impressions as he grows up: walk more, play and communicate with people. And then colorful television commercials will lose their former appeal.