Kids must learn: Image isn't everything

In our house, we love television commercials. We laugh at the ones that are just too stupid to be real, like the really overweight girl walking through a grocery store in her underwear ... "I was so self-conscious about my weight, I felt like everyone was staring," she says. (Well duh! Put on some clothes!)

We marvel at their creativity ... like the one where flightless birds get to hang glide to see what flying is like. And the kids are quick to pick up annoying jingles without even trying: "It's my money, and I want it now!" I'll hear them yelling along with J.G. Wentworth's clients.

I think when they're young, kids are like little sponges, soaking up messages and information without even trying. The oddest facts and observations get lodged in their heads and become truths, or at least permanent pieces of information. I remember years ago when I overheard 3-year-old Michael explaining to a friend that steak was for boys, and salad was for girls. No one had ever told him this, but after spending his first three years of life watching Dad eating steaks and me preferring salads, he came to a logical -- though erroneous -- conclusion all on his own.

I think that a lot of advertisers know this, which is why they target kids in so many commercials. It is hoped you and I can recognize the ploys of these master marketers, recognizing that exaggeration, overblown hype, and sometimes outright lies are just a few tools of the trade. But what about our kids? Do they know when something is too good to be true? Do they understand that some peoples' jobs are to sell stuff, no matter what?

Products that are NEW and IMPROVED! screech at consumers from grocery shelves. Cleaning supplies that will leave your entire house SPARKLING CLEAN! scream at us from the TV. And don't even get me started about those male enhancement ads ... how is one to explain erectile dysfunction to a 5-year-old? And more importantly, should you really have to?

My favorite TV commercial now is the kitty litter with ODOR INDICATOR CRYSTALS (do I hear you oohing and ahhing?). Apparently, when the cat box begins to stink, these special little crystals will turn blue so you know the cat box stinks. Hello? Do these advertisers not realize that everyone in my family has an ODOR INDICATOR right on his or her face? It's called a nose, and when we can smell the kitty boxes, we know it's time to change them!

Even a young child can see the ridiculousness of the kitty litter ad. In a world of ever-increasing, bigger and better products, manufacturers must continually try to up the ante, and to get us to believe that we really can't live without the new and improved product. Simply pointing out the logic is an important step to making sure that young people can separate the product from the rest of the advertisement.

With a teen and a tween in the house, I've turned a bit of my attention to the types of ads that imply if one uses the advertised product, one will have the lifestyle exemplified in the commercial. Ads for cigarettes used to do this. Remember the ultra-cool Marlboro Man? What guy wouldn't want to be like him? The logic: Smoke this brand, live like this person.

This type of ad is still out there. Sometimes I must fight the urge to buy nutrition bars ... and running shoes ... and brightly colored yoga mats. The girls who advertise those products are always thin. And gorgeous. And buff. I know in my head that buying those items won't make me look like those women, but my heart wishes it were so. Sometimes I start to think, "Maybe, if I get the shoes and eat the bars and get a pink yoga mat, I will look like that."

And then I become a grown-up again, and tell myself not to be stupid.

TV commercials for alcohol rely on this kind of thinking, and a lot of it is targeted toward our kids. We've all seen the beer ads with tan, muscular hotties playing volleyball on the beach. Suddenly they're approached by two blonde babes with a six-pack of beer. The last scene shows them all snuggling around a camp fire, drinking beer as the waves crash in the background.

My oldest son is 14, and I'm sure this lifestyle looks highly appealing to him. It looks pretty appealing to me, too! But I know that life isn't really like that and that it's my job to make sure Michael -- and all of our kids -- know that drinking Brand X does not correspond to living the high life.

It all comes down to separating truth from fiction. By helping our children to become critical thinkers and to be able to look at the whole advertisement instead of just accepting its message, we provide them with a tool they can use their whole life.

So watch a little TV with your kids tonight. Look critically at the commercials, and talk about what the ads imply. Will those new Sketchers sneakers really make you able to jump that high? Will those jeans really make you that popular? Teaching our kids to separate fact from fiction is a tool they'll find useful for the rest of their lives.

* This column was made possible through a partnership between Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital Community Education program and Christina McCarthy. Christina is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She and her husband live, work and play in and around Yakima. She can be reached at: kidscount@fairpoint.net.

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