Children need educating about ads

As Chairman of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, and a founding member of the UK’s Media Smart programme, I would strongly object to the way in which Media Smart was described in the article “For the sake of adults, stop advertising to kids” by Sean Brierley (MW May 16).

Media literacy programmes educate children how to use the media in the context of their daily lives. They are an important component of their development. The Government, the European Commission and parliament and UNESCO support and endorse media literacy programmes for children. These institutions know that programmes like Media Smart are a practical means through which children can become informed and critical members of our society.

Parents, Schools, government and society have a duty to see that children are informed and educated. We live in a commercial world, so let’s help our children to deal with it. Prohibition neither informs nor educates. The advertising business believes in information and education. Why doesn’t Sean Brierley?

Dr Peter Tomkins

Chairman

NCPTA

Sevenoaks

Kent

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