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The heartwarming images of children — smile , express mirth out loud and draw close — that take the pages of parenting magazines actually carry a less - than - obvious problem : Many of these ad show kids doing things that are not good .
The ads show exposure or describe ware that conflict with the wellness and safety passport from the American Academy of Pediatrics ( AAP ) , the nation ’s gravid baby doctor group , according to the researchers .
" It was surprising that about every sixth ad in these parenting cartridge had at least one irreverence of AAP policy , " said Dr. Michael Pitt , an assistant prof of pediatric medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and a atomic number 27 - author of the field of study . [ 9 Weird Ways Kids Can Get Hurt ]
The researcher had expected to see only a minor handful of ads containing offence , he order . Instead , they find many violations in a wide range of product family , from infant sleep andtoy safetyto supplements and baby formula .
For their analysis , the investigator review the Page of the two parenting magazines with the prominent circulations , " parent " and " Family Fun . " They looked at all of the ads for product used by children that seem in publication from the twelvemonth 2009 and 2014 .
For each ad , the researchers pass judgment whether the product , the photograph and the lyric in the advert were reproducible with print recommendation from the AAP ’s policy instruction , harm bar manual of arms or website advice on healthychildren.org .
The research worker will present their findings Oct. 25 at the AAP ’s yearly national meeting in Washington , D.C.
Potentially harmful images
In the immense legal age of cases , the problem the researchers incur were in the ads ' trope . In fact , more than one-half of the problematic images promoted practices that could be potentially life - peril to tyke , Pitt said .
For example , one problem the researchers identified was in an advert for a non - FDA - approved dietetic accessory that claimed to plow childhood clinical depression , he said . Another ad showedchildren ride bicycleswithout helmets , and a bambino touch into a bag of Zea mays everta , a food for thought that should be avoided by children under age 5 because it ’s a potential decease jeopardy .
Others images showed a baby using an babe walker , and a cot with bumper — both of which are practices the pediatricians group does not recommend.(Walkers do not help child learn to walk , and they can actually delay normal motor growth , the AAP order . Andcrib bumpersare a asphyxiation and strangulation hazard . )
When the researchers compare the ads in the 2014 issues to those from 2009 , they receive few problem related to kip safety andchildren ’s screen time(such as infant DVDs , which are not advised for child under 2 ) , which likely resulted from increased media attention to these subject .
However , they observed an increase in problems related to ads for non - FDA - approved treatment and Cartesian product that may make baby more potential to strike .
The researchers ' concern is that when parents see these ads and photograph describe on the glossy pages of a powder store , it may send a content that this behavior is normal , even though these praxis could be harmful to child , Pitt severalise Live Science .
Pitt said he hope the study findings make increased awareness among parents about the potentially harmful messages in ads , and that it promote more parents to urge for safer ad .
He also hop the findings may promote advertisers of children ’s production , as well as editors of parenting magazines , to look back their ads and accompanying icon to make indisputable they are consistent with the honest practices for children ’s wellness and guard .
