Kids being turned into rampant consumers, says report

A report published this week by the left wing think tank Compass warns parents that children are being conditioned to become young consumers by huge marketing campaigns from toymakers.

The report suggests that children are being influenced by the toys they buy and are growing up too fast as a result. Toys such as Bratz are squarely aimed at girls younger than 12 and according to the report; ‘appear sexual – "like pole dancers on their way to a gentlemen's club".'

The Archbishop of Canterbury, commenting on the report's findings said he was concerned that rampant marketing is behind rising levels of stress, depression and low self-esteem in children. 'There is an increasing political and social consensus that something needs to be done to safeguard children from the worst excesses of direct marketing and the pressures of commercialisation,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

One of the worst offenders that the survey's authors identified was the giant American corporation Wal-Mart. This year the company took the basic Christmas list to a new level, asking kids to enter their parents' email addresses and then pick items from a moving conveyor belt on the firm's website. The list of items chosen by the child is then emailed to the parent.

The report's conclusion is stark; 'Millions of pounds are spent conditioning children to become young consumers. Who is forming our children – parents, guardians, friends, families, teachers, community workers – or an army of psychologists, branding gurus, marketing experts, advertisers who are spending billions to shape young minds in the name of profit. Can children be children before they are consumers?'

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