Are your kids begging you?

Are your kids begging you to buy things? If so, the marketers are being effective in teaching your children one of the best ways to get you to break down and buy it - beg!

Did you know that kids under age 12 influence the spending of 700 billion dollars per year? The documentary "Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood" explores how marketers work their magic with children. They did a wonderful job pulling together data showing the negative impact it has on kids. You can watch a preview version of the entire film on the Media Education Foundation's site.

I enjoyed watching this movie and hearing from various experts regarding how marketing has changed. I didn't realize that researchers actually watch kids take baths to figure out how they interact with things like soap. The extent of their research is a bit disconcerting!