RightWingDeathBogan

Training your children to eat wrong? Litigate!

Sherri Carlson has a few issues.

I think the first thing she should do is get over herself. The next thing would be to call Supernanny Jo and get a few clues.

If she has so little rapport with her children that she can't deal with their whining, then she should maybe look within rather than blaming the big bad corporations.

Do Kelloggs market at the children? Of course they do! Blind Freddy can see that it works. Kids have a way of bleating, and bleating, and bleating until the sound of fingernails scraping on a blackboard resembles Rachmaninoff. The trick is to demonstrate the meaning of the word NO! in no uncertain terms.

Sure, I'm lucky in that Magilla doesn't like MacDonalds. She doesn't like KFC or sugary cereals. She does, however, lerv chocolate, and she discovered lollies when she was around 2, so that's something to deal with when shopping.

Magilla is aware, also, that there is a line that is not to be crossed. Usually a particular tone of voice will give her notice of that. I'm not talking harpy; just firm and forceful. She knows when I'm likely to cave in, as I sometimes do.

But back to the litigation.

"But then they turn on Nickelodeon and see all those enticing junk-food ads," Carlson said. "Adding insult to injury, we enter the grocery store and see our beloved Nick characters plastered on all those junky snacks and cereals."

Carlson and another plaintiff, Andrew Leong of Brookline, Massachusetts, spoke at a news conference organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

......

"For over 30 years, public health advocates have urged companies to stop marketing junk food to children," said Susan Linn of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. "Even as rates of childhood obesity have soared, neither Viacom nor Kellogg has listened."

What ever happened to switching off the tv? Why not regulate what your children watch? I can only speak for myself, but sure, Magilla loves to turn on the teev in the morning, but she has no concept of how commercial television actually works. She has her selection of dvds and videos, so she thinks that she is in charge. She's been working the tv since she was about 18 months, and couldn't tell you about the golden arches. She's been there, but only for the playground. She won't touch the stuff unless she's exceptionally hungry. (Not like me - I love a good quarter pounder!)

On an even more serious note, if Sherri and her pals win this case, the outcome would not be favourable to anybody. Not the television stations, not the marketers, and most importantly of all, not the parents.

When we demand legislation for our lack of decisive action in parenting, then we are demanding that the State raise our children. Then we end up with the State deciding how much input we can have into our offspring's education.

Among other things.

Where does the buck stop?

In this household, it stops with me.

In Sherri's, it stops with Kelloggs and Nick.

posted by Nilk @ 11:13 AM