At what age do you think tv ads and magazines start to have an effect on children? i think it is a very early age such as 5 or 6. What do you guys think?

That is probably around the right age but I could see it affecting even younger kids. My child was 4 when Elmo was the toy in demand at Christmas and he felt like he would not fit in if he didn't get an elmo like his cousin was getting. They were watching tv together and saw a tv ad. Neither one of them had seen the Elmo other than the ad.

i think that advertising has an affect on children as soon as they begin watching tv and definitely when they begin to learn how to read. although it is very sad to think about, its definitely something that we as teachers should address in our classrooms. i think even just simple statements about how some commercials are "silly" and try to make you think particular things on purpose is enough for young children. just opening their eyes to the idea that not everything they see and/or hear is correct or even worthwhile is very important.
speaking of in-your-face advertising, has everybody seen the movie minority report? i really hope that our advertising does not proceed to those extremes in the future or we will really have our work cut out for us! i guess media literacy is our best bet in attempting to stop (or at least slow down) this advertising craze.

I agree with you Heather. I'm sure when I was very young I saw something on the tv and had to have it, and as much tv as young people watch today, it's probably worse. I think that with as much influence that the media has on everyone today, children should have some sort of media literacy, even if it's just a very small amount.

I agree. I also, believe that TV begins having an effect on children as soon as they are old enough to begin watching and paying attention to what they are seeing on the screen. They especially love the "toy" commercials.

all i can think of when i read all of your responses is how receptive i was to tv at a young age. according to my mother, i used to stand in front of the tv and zone out. she was concerned that it wasn't healthy for me, until she asked me about something i had been watching. i then gave her a full description of the tv show, along with describing some of the commercials i saw and sang a few commercial jingles as well. i think she said i was about 3 or so..... if i could absorb all this info. at this young an age, i can only imagine what kind of effect the images alone had on me ... hmmmm.....frightening