Sadly, marketing to children is not limited to just toys or activities anymore. Food manufactures have made children the target of heavy media advertising for nefarious foods. More than half of the foods that are advertised on television to children do not meet government nutritional guidelines. 

In an age where most western societies are battling to change the trend in overweight and obese children, this is a concerning issue for many reasons. First, children don’t fully understand what a balance diet consists of and therefore want the bright colored, playful food products they see. And second, the advertising is purposely placed where it will have the most impact - during children’s programming or on channels designed for children. 

While we as parents can’t do much about what is advertised, there are ways that we can help reduce the influence of marketing and lower our children’s demands for foods with low nutritional quality.