Children pressured by desire to 'not look poor'
Janaki Mahadevan
Friday, June 3, 2011
A desire to fit in and not look poor is placing children under pressure to buy expensive goods, a survey by the Office of the Children's Commissioner has found.
The survey, which has fed into Reg Bailey's review of Commercialisation and Sexualisation of Childhood, was led by Amplify, the children's commissioner's children and young people advisory group.
The young people developed a survey after feeling that not enough had been done to consult children in previous reviews that had examined the impact of commercialisation.
Of the 552 children and young people aged eight to 18 who responded to the questionnaire, 85 per cent said they felt under pressure to buy certain items. The most common reason cited by children was the pressure to fit in, while others said peer pressure, bullying and not wanting to look poor affected them.
Mobile phones, clothes and electrical gadgets were items most sought after by the young people.
A further 72 per cent of the respondents said they believed adults were concerned about the pressure on their children to own certain things.
Around one in five felt the main reason for parents’ concern is the financial implications, with some respondents saying parents worry that they cannot afford for their children to have such items.
The report by the young people accompanies Reg Bailey's review into sexualisation and commercialisation of children which has called for greater regulation of music videos and better protection for children against online pornography.
The young people developed a survey after feeling that not enough had been done to consult children in previous reviews that had examined the impact of commercialisation.
Of the 552 children and young people aged eight to 18 who responded to the questionnaire, 85 per cent said they felt under pressure to buy certain items. The most common reason cited by children was the pressure to fit in, while others said peer pressure, bullying and not wanting to look poor affected them.
Mobile phones, clothes and electrical gadgets were items most sought after by the young people.
A further 72 per cent of the respondents said they believed adults were concerned about the pressure on their children to own certain things.
Around one in five felt the main reason for parents’ concern is the financial implications, with some respondents saying parents worry that they cannot afford for their children to have such items.
The report by the young people accompanies Reg Bailey's review into sexualisation and commercialisation of children which has called for greater regulation of music videos and better protection for children against online pornography.
