Although it is a parent’s responsibility to control what their children eats, it becomes very hard when there are advertisements everywhere that are mostly directed to children. The government should help decrease illnesses and obesity in America. It can be hard for the government to tell us what to eat because some people don't like to be told what to do and it can cause the fast food industry to flounder. To avoid interfering with the fast food industry’s success, the government shouldn’t eliminate ads completely but create ads informing children about the harm fast food is causing. It can also help to increase the amount of ads from the health departments promoting good health and wellness.
Parents should always have control of their kids, what their kids do and where their kids are, however parents can't control how often their child sees a fast food advertisement. According to Adweek News, Images of food packaging were shown in 88 percent of kids' ads versus 23 percent of adult ads and toy premiums were promoted in 69 percent of kids ads versus 1 percent of adult ads. McDonalds come up with fun playgrounds, food packages in shape of presents and pretend like they are doing it to make people happy but in reality they are doing it to profit themselves. A parent shouldn't have to supervise their child when they're watching nickelodeon to avoid them from seeing a fast food advertisement thats giving them erroneous information or giving their kid the impression that their food is healthy.
Every time my 6 yr old niece and I are on the train and she sees an ad for McDonalds she nags constantly until I get her “her favorite” ; a kid’s meal. According to the book Selling to kids, a marketer said “ It’s not just getting kids to nag, its giving them a specific reason to ask for the product”. Schlosser further explains that the aim of most ads directed at children is to get them to nag their parents until they
get what they want. Soon enough marketers started supporting the idea, calling it “Leverage” and “Pest Power”. Pioneers also used the information in the book kids as customers, where McNeal classified the nagging tactics and in 1992 they created ads teaching kids to nag. Parents do have the option of saying no to their kids, however nagging becomes extremely annoying after a while and they eventually give in.
It can be hard for the government to make the huge decision of stopping ads for our health. On June 1,2012 NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg submitted the proposal to the NYC health department banning the sale of large sodas over 16 oz. due to the rapid increase of diabetes over the years. When most people heard the proposal they instantly disagreed saying the government shouldn’t tell us what to eat and drink. On July 30, 2013 the proposal was rejected by the state court saying the controversial regulation violates “the principle of separation of powers.” It is very difficult for the government to regulate certain things; food is one of them. The best thing the government should do is create advertisements directed to america (especially children) informing them of the harm fast foods are causing. Stopping the fast food’s ads will decrease the fast food’s business. The best way to help both sides without violating the constitution is allowing the fast food ads, but also allowing more ads promoting healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. When having an option, people can make their own decision.
Food is something we need to survive, parents shouldn't have to worry about their child becoming ill because of something that seems so good. Eliminating fast food ads can lead to the decrease of success in the fast food industry so the government should not control what we eat. they should allow us to make our own decision by informing us the harm fast foods can be causing us.
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