A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that tweens ? children between 8 and 12 years old ? consume the most television ads for food, 51 hours worth in a year. The vast majority are for fast food, sodas and other sugary drinks, sweet cereals, chips and candy ? which is not what most parents want their children to eat.
?We?re not feeding our children the right information,? says Ken Haller, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Saint Louis University.
Haller suggests using commercials to teach children to be ?media critics? and pick apart the types of food that ads guide them to eat. ?This will give kids greater mastery of their environment as they outsmart adults.?