Consuming kids (The New Press)

Written by an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Susan Linn, Consuming Kids is a call to arms to parents, educators and legislators to protect children from the siren call of all items marketed to children. Describing in detail the ways that marketing affects all aspects of children's growth and development - including their health, family life, self-esteem, values and peer relationships - Linn argues that, while parents need to keep talking to children about commercial manipulation, marketing to children is so pervasive that its effects can no longer be mitigated within the confines of the individual family. According to Linn, corporate marketing has become a societal problem as complex and harmful as racism or pollution and should be addressed as such. Asserting the importance of grass roots efforts to combat the problem, Linn argues that the answer ultimately lies in public policy designed to protect children.