Mothers’ Union believes children should be valued as children and not targeted as adult consumers. Childhood has become a marketing opportunity worth £99 billion in the UK and £350 million is spent in the UK each year on persuading children to consume. Manipulative techniques exploit children’s natural credulity and use them as a conduit to the household purse. The materialism this encourages has negative effects on children’s physical health, mental and emotional wellbeing, on their values, educational development and relationships with families and peers. The use of sexualised content to sell to children and the imposition of sexuality on children to market goods is particularly abhorrent.
Mothers’ Union members in the Diocese of St. Albans is backing this campaign. We are:
1. Using the Bye Buy Test by asking ourselves:
- Why do I want to buy it?
- How often will I use it?
- Can I afford it?
- What will happen if I don’t buy it?
2. Challenging retailers and advertisers who sell or advertise inappropriately to children.
3. Contacting our political representatives to ask them to address the issue?
On 6th June the government-backed Bailey Review called “Letting Children Be Children” was launched. This review investigated the commercialisation and premature sexualisation of childhood and resulted in 14 recommendations. Mothers’ Union welcomes the recommendations and particularly appreciates the focus on parents’ concerns. Mothers’ Union ” embraces the challenge to redouble our efforts to hold to account those to whom the recommendations are addressed, through the continuation of our Bye Buy Childhood Campaign”.
For more information about the campaign and to request the handy wallet sized cards please go to www.byebuychildhood.org
The Parentport website was launched in June 2011 in response to recommendations from the Bailey Review and is run by UK media regulators. The website offers parents, carers and anyone else a way of making an official complaint to regulators about material they may find inappropriate to children. It covers the range of media advertising from TV and radio, print media and outdoor advertising to online advertising; as well as information and links to regulator guidelines.
Please help us to raise awareness of this website:
