Molly Medalaza

The DECEPTIVE POWER OF ADVERTISEMENT

Monday, 26. January 2009, 16:45:44

Tomek stares at the television screen , mesmerized . He is all ears as a commercial message persuades listeners : "When your son wears this , he will be strong , athletic , and admired by his friends . You must buy it !" Tomek runs to his dad , humming the catchy tune he has just heard . "Daddy will you buy it for me ?" he asks .

Why do children want what is advertized ? "Because others have those things , they want them too . They want to maintain their status within the group ," explain an educator quoted in the Polish magazine Rewia . When children beg , cry , and sulk , some parents often give in and buy the product their offspring want .

How can you protect your child from the deceptive power of advertisements ? First , " you have to spend time with your child and keep on explaining that a person' s worth is not measured by the particular brand of shoes [or clothes] he wears ," says Rewia . Let your child know that it is possible to have a happy childhood without the newest toys . Second , parents themselves must be aware of how advertisements can influence their children . The key is not to "allow advertising to dictate to us what is good for our child ," recommends Was .

Finally , all parents can benefit from the counsil contained in the Bible . The apostle John wrote : "Everything in the world-the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one' s means of life-does not originate with the Father , but originate with the world."- 1John 2: 15 , 16 .

Do you not agree that many advertisements appeal to "the desire of the eyes" and move young as well as old to make a "showy display of [their] means of life ?" Interestingly, the apostle John continued his counsel , writing : "The world is passing away and so its desire , but he that does the will of God remains forever ." - 1John 2 : 17 .

Parents who regularly spend time in upbuilding conversation with their children can inculcate in them godly principles and worthwhile values . (Deut . 6 : 5-7) Then children will not be so easily swayed by the deceptive advertise-ments of this world , which are designed to get them to pressure their parents into buying this things for them .