Flip through a parenting magazine while you are in line at the grocery store, or while waiting for your child to see the doctor. The photos and images your eyes skim over might actually be showing children who are doing unsafe things. These pretty photos in the advertisements may give parents the wrong idea when it comes to child safety.
Parenting magazines, of course, are intended to be read by parents. These magazines offer advice on everything from nutrition and health issues, to how to cope when your child is having a public “meltdown”. One would reasonably assume that the ads in the parenting magazines would be carefully checked over before they are included.
A group of researchers at the University of Michigan studied the advertisements that were in two top-selling United States parenting magazines. They looked at ads that appeared in those magazines between 2009 and 2014. In total, they examined more than 3,000 ads.
What they discovered might surprise you. One in six of the ads shown in the parenting magazines that the researchers investigated conflicted with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) safety recommendations. In other words, the ads were showing children and infants who were in unsafe situations or who were not given proper safety protections.
One example that the researchers found were ads that showed young children in a boat who were not wearing life jackets. The image conflicts with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics which state: “Your children should wear life jackets at all times when on boats or near bodies of water.”
Other photos in advertisements showed children who were riding bicycles – and who were not wearing helmets. Those images go against the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations regarding bicycle safety. The AAP says: “Your child needs to wear a helmet on every bike ride, no matter how short or how close to home”. They point out that a helmet protects your child from serious injury, and that the helmet should always be worn.
Another problem with the ads in the parenting magazines that the researchers looked at involved sleep. Some ads showed infants that were sleeping on their stomachs or sides. The AAP recommends that parents should always place babies on their backs to sleep, even if for a short nap.
What should parents take from the discoveries made by the researchers? It is vital for parents to realize that the images in the advertisements have not been “vetted for safety”. Do not let yourself be influenced by what you see in those ads. Follow the advice of your pediatrician, or review what the AAP recommends.
Image by Anita Hart on Flickr.
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