Advertising directed at children should be banned because it places financial burdens on parents, creates unhealthy choices and develops poor adult purchasing habits. Advertising is poison to young people and we allow young people to drink from the cup. These fatal advertisements are designed by psychologists and enhanced by graphic design teams who target the weakness of children and adults around the world. Agencies spend more than twelve billion dollars on advertising aimed at children every year. (Linn)How should a surprised parent fight these schemes and maneuvers of advertising agencies in the battlefield of their children's youth? The only possible way to combat these crimes is to ban all advertising aimed at children under a certain age. Allow advertising only on programs aimed at teenagers and not toddlers and infants. This will effectively reduce the manipulation of advertising on young children. As children grow up, the overall effect of advertising on them also increases, becoming engulfed in the status quo of advertising. Banning advertising aimed at children will also alleviate some conflicts between parents and children. Countless parents succumb to pressure from their children asking for something they don't need, usually based on incorrect advertising. James U Mcneal, an accredited writer, wrote in his book on the myths and realities of marketing to children that “Children directly influence $187 billion of their parents' annual spending, and indirectly influence at least another $300 billion.” These findings were made more than a decade ago, so it's hard to imagine how many billions of dollars kids are influencing now in the digital age where everyone has...... middle of paper... (2013): 358 -364 Web. November 28, 2013Cai, Xiaomei and Xiaoquan Zhao. “Online Advertising on Popular Children's Websites: Structural Features and Privacy Issues.” Computers in Human Behavior Volume 29, Issue 4, (2013): 1510-1518. Web. November 30, 2013Dommer, Sara, Vanitha Swaminithan, and Rohini Ahluwalia. “Using Differentiated Brands to Deflect Exclusion and Protect Inclusion: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem on Attachment to Differentiated Brands.” Journal of Consumer Research 40.4 (2013): 657-675. Web. December 01, 2013 Bernhardt, Amy M., et al “How Fast Food Television Marketing to Children Compares to Adult Advertising.” E8.8 (2013): 1-6 Web, November 30, 2013 Hudson, Simon and Charlene Elliott “Measuring the Impact of Product Placement on Children Using Digital Brand Integration.” Food Marketing Journal 19.3 (2013 ): 176-200 Web. 27 November. 2013