Modern lessons - A Stafford Primary School counselor advises kids to be wary of what they see
The 9- and 10-year-olds in Kathy Kriesel's fourth-grade class look so innocent and trusting, so insecure and vulnerable.
They are exactly what many advertisers seek as they focus on preteens who want to find acceptance among their peers.
From body spray to Barbie cell phones, much of the advertising targeting preteens focuses on body image and the latest, usually expensive, technology.
Hoping to make the target audience and their parents aware of the potential for manipulation, Stafford Primary School this school year held a seminar for parents and a classroom lesson for students on the topic.
"I don't want students to be pulled into the pressure of advertising, (buying it) only because they want to be cool or fit in," said Laura Barbour, a licensed school counselor at Stafford. "There are students here who are very aware of that."
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are especially vulnerable to such ads because they are beginning to develop their sense of identity and want a "sophisticated" self-image, she said.
Nearly 50 parents swapped suggestions at a seminar on the subject sponsored by the school's Parent Teacher Student Association. Many of them, however, had already been aware of the problem.
It's the parents who don't see the harm in such advertising who worry Suzi Anderson, vice president of the Parent Teacher Students Association.
That's where the kids come in.
During lessons to fourth- and fifth-grade students, Barbour urges them to talk with their parents about what they see in advertisements and how it affects them.
Clad in Nike, Quicksilver and other clothing labels, Kriesel's fourth-grade students weren't about to be manipulated. Their hands shot into the air with each of Barbour's questions.
"Where do you see ads?"
The list was long -- computer popups, radio, billboards, magazines, television, newspapers.
People see an average of 3,000 advertisements a day, Barbour said.
She showed an Abercrombie ad that pictured a girl hugging a boy and had the words "classic cool" along the bottom. Both models appeared about 12. Barbour asked the kids to interpret the ad.
"I think they're using cool-looking people so you will buy it," a girl said.
Others linked the ad to having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
"It looks like he's having fun with his girlfriend," a boy said, setting off giggles.
Barbour said, "I worry about advertising I see that targets younger people that are giving a clear message about body image, sexuality . . . alcohol and tobacco."
"I wonder how it affects a young person's self-esteem."
The 9- and 10-year-olds in Kathy Kriesel's fourth-grade class look so innocent and trusting, so insecure and vulnerable.
They are exactly what many advertisers seek as they focus on preteens who want to find acceptance among their peers.
From body spray to Barbie cell phones, much of the advertising targeting preteens focuses on body image and the latest, usually expensive, technology.
Hoping to make the target audience and their parents aware of the potential for manipulation, Stafford Primary School this school year held a seminar for parents and a classroom lesson for students on the topic.
"I don't want students to be pulled into the pressure of advertising, (buying it) only because they want to be cool or fit in," said Laura Barbour, a licensed school counselor at Stafford. "There are students here who are very aware of that."
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are especially vulnerable to such ads because they are beginning to develop their sense of identity and want a "sophisticated" self-image, she said.
Nearly 50 parents swapped suggestions at a seminar on the subject sponsored by the school's Parent Teacher Student Association. Many of them, however, had already been aware of the problem.
It's the parents who don't see the harm in such advertising who worry Suzi Anderson, vice president of the Parent Teacher Students Association.
That's where the kids come in.
During lessons to fourth- and fifth-grade students, Barbour urges them to talk with their parents about what they see in advertisements and how it affects them.
Clad in Nike, Quicksilver and other clothing labels, Kriesel's fourth-grade students weren't about to be manipulated. Their hands shot into the air with each of Barbour's questions.
"Where do you see ads?"
The list was long -- computer popups, radio, billboards, magazines, television, newspapers.
People see an average of 3,000 advertisements a day, Barbour said.
She showed an Abercrombie ad that pictured a girl hugging a boy and had the words "classic cool" along the bottom. Both models appeared about 12. Barbour asked the kids to interpret the ad.
"I think they're using cool-looking people so you will buy it," a girl said.
Others linked the ad to having a boyfriend or girlfriend.
"It looks like he's having fun with his girlfriend," a boy said, setting off giggles.
Barbour said, "I worry about advertising I see that targets younger people that are giving a clear message about body image, sexuality . . . alcohol and tobacco."
"I wonder how it affects a young person's self-esteem."
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