Editorial: Commercialism is damaging childhood

According to Secretary of State Ed Balls, children see about 10,000 TV adverts a year and recognise 400 brands by the age of 10. Studies from the US have claimed merchandising and advertising images can lead to depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. The consultations with parents and young people that informed the Plan unearthed a groundswell of concern about children's exposure to commercial pressures.

In a way, commissioning this study goes against the current grain of thinking that children ought not to be mollycoddled and that exposure to risk aids their development. After all, consumerism and its stoking by the media has always been part of the make-up of modern Western society. The internet is now integral to the way many children learn about the world and socialise with their friends. However, the concerns identified by parents reflect the fact that today's young people are exposed to commercial messages like never before.

An explosion in internet usage levels has prompted online marketers to use so-called "hidden persuasion techniques" to target the young. This, and the proliferation of TV channels and advertisers in the past few years, is making it impossible for parents to have much control over their children's media habits. The Institute for Public Policy Research's report Freedom's Orphans warned a year ago of how children are increasingly defining themselves with purchases and brands. The danger is that this produces a society of purely private young people disinclined to be active citizens and, in Every Child Matters-speak, make a positive contribution. Any attempts by government to regulate commercial life will be fraught with difficulty.

Measures in the Children's Plan to elevate the status of education of the arts might help balance out the bombardment of commercial messages.

At the time of writing, the themes of the plan were beginning to trickle through, with a particular focus emerging on eight- to 13-year olds. The Children's Plan's is welcome and crowns a year in which the government has attempted to frame policy by putting the needs of children and young people first. We look forward to unravelling its meaning and following its implementation next year.