Advertising & Consumerism:
media literacy education materials for parents, families and children

Welcome to an exclusive service of MediaLiteracy.com -- links to free downloadable media literacy fact sheets, discussion guides and other materials, organized by subject category.

Most downloads are easy-to-print PDF files which require the free Adobe Reader software to open. Download Adobe Reader here.

available from the Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood:

• Marketing to Children Overview
• Marketing Media Violence
• Sexualizing Childhood
• The Commercialization of Toys & Play
• Marketing without Borders
• Marketing to Babies and Toddlers
• Materialism, and Family Stress
• Marketing in Schools
• Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity
• Body Image and Eating Disorders
  

available from Common Sense Media
This site has many articles, many accompanied by a printable PDF handout, with great advice for parents. As of May 2010, they offer 21 articles on advertising and consumerism.

available from the Media Education Foundation

• Advertising: Exposures & Industry Statistics
• Deconstructing a Print Advertisement
• Deconstructing a Video Advertisement
• Deconstructing An Alcohol Advertisement
• Substances As Stress Relievers: Deconstructing Advertisements
• Thinking Critically About Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Pharmaceutical Advertising

available from Media-Awareness, the awesome Canadian media literacy site

• Printable articles on Marketing & Consumerism.
  

available from PBSParents
PBS Parents Guide to Children & Media has online printable articles on Advertising for parents of pre-schoolers through teens.

Note: Despite strong recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatricians that children under the age of two watch no TV, PBS materials for preschoolers assume that “Television may be an inevitable part of young children's lives.” They produce and/or broadcast programs for infants and very young children, despite the recommendations of doctors against it.

The statement from PBS makes a good media literacy lesson all by itself. The lesson is on how a message reflects the point of view of those who created it. While these are excellent materials, parents should always consider the source, compare the message to what others say, and ask, "Why did they take this position? Whose interests does it best serve?" Who has the deepest knowledge and greatest concern for what's best for young children's emotional and physical/brain development: our children's doctors, or television producers?

available from Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College

Materials, training and support for the effective integration of media literacy with critical thinking into classroom curricula at all education levels. Many outstanding free curriculum kits, searchable from the drop-down box on their home page for terms including Class/Labor, Immigration and more.

Let us know about any other downloads you find on this topic which aren't listed here. Thanks for visiting!

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