Public and parental perceptions of and concerns with advertising to preschool children

Despite the increasing attention paid by advertisers to preschool children as consumers, little academic attention has been paid to its implications or its consequences. To address this, the following article reports on two independent New Zealand studies of public and parental concerns about the nature and extent of television advertising to preschool children. Results show high levels of concern with the effects of advertising on preschool children and considerable support for its regulation. Importantly, the findings also reveal a fundamental concern with the normalisation of consumption values and promotion of material culture as consequences of advertising exposure not previously identified in the literature. The findings provide useful evidence to inform public policy recommendations and suggestions for future research.