Research In England Proposes Ways To Prevent The Sexualization Of Children

Pressures for children to grow up too quickly have reached a breaking point for English parents. Rising concerns about raising kiddies in a highly sexualized culture prompted Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers’ Union, to perform an independent study of the pressures and influences contemporary babes are being faced with.

The report entitled Letting Children Be Children: the Report of an Independent Review of the Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Childhood asks broadcasters and businesses to consider the well-being of children and the increasingly sexualized “wallpaper” that daily envelopes them.

 

The report proposes:

  • putting age restrictions on music videos to prevent children buying sexually explicit videos
  • covering up sexy images on the covers of magazines and newspapers
  • making every customer consent at the point of purchase to having adult content on their home internet, laptops, or smart phones, rather than receiving it automatically
  • urging retailers to offer more age-appropriate clothes for children and to commit to a code of practice which checks and challenges the design, buying, display, and marketing of clothes, products, and services for kids
  • restricting outdoor advertisements containing sexy imagery where large numbers of children are likely to see them (schools, nurseries, playgrounds, etc)
  • giving greater consideration to the views and sentiments of parents above the general public in regulating TV
  • providing parents with one website to make it easier to complain about any program, advertisement, product, or service
  • banning the employment of children under 16 as “brand ambassador”s and in peer-to-peer marketing

Baily’s report is being received well so far in England as the Prime Minister has welcomed the findings and the suggestions to make the country more “family-friendly.” The Prime Minister apparently plans to invite retailers, advertisers, broadcasters, magazine editors, video games and music industry chiefs, and regulators to a summit in October to discuss implementing these measures.

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