Parents sue over 'junk food' ads

According to the Beeb (with minor adjustment from my desk), Parents Special Interest groups sue over 'junk food' ads.

So-called consumer groups are trying to stop television stations from airing advertisements (which, may I point out, pay for the bulk of programming, so that parents don't have to pay outrageous monthly fees for stations like Nickelodeon the way they do for HBO and Showtime) promoting sugary or fatty foods during kiddy hours. They're targeting primarily Nikelodeon and other nets whose primary audience is the tot lot.

Apparently, these people think that, once a television enters the house, the parent has no control over what the kid sees on it. Fancy that. Parents don't control the on/off switch, parents don't control the channel selector, and parents have no control over what is purchased for kids' breakfasts, lunches, or suppers. It's all the fault of those svengalis who broadcast from Disney's bunkers, waging war on the Young American Ass, making it soft and larded, so that it will come out more tender from the wicked witch's gingerbread Easy-Bake oven.

Gee, whiz! My mom knew we saw those early morning commercials every day, she heard us beg daily for Cap'n Crunch cereal, for Super Sugar Crisp (yeah, I'm old enough to remember before it was Super Golden Crisp, when they actually told you what it was made of), for Super Energy Sticks (those space-age Tootsie Roll wannabees), for Hostess Ho-Hos for breakfast. And, amazingly enough, she didn't feel the need to invest in all that crap. We ate low-sugar breakfasts, like oatmeal from the big drum, like homemade pancakes, like boiled uggs, like fresh fruit. And, we didn't watch television more than an hour each afternoon (hooray for Dark Shadows!). We were sent to play outside, where we actually got regular exercise, climbing trees, riding bicycles, digging trenches next to the alley, or playing tag, frisbee, stickball, street hockey, or whatever, as soon as we'd finished our homework.

So, now the folks are blaming tv stations for the lard-ass kids we have. How about blaming national prosperity, where the kids don't have to help out with finances by getting jobs mowing lawns or delivering newspapers or whatever? How about blaming eight hours of sitting in classrooms, where the kids are numbed to all sensory input except that from a droning instructor or a computer monitor? Or, better still, how about taking a little PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for what you make your kids into, by letting the television babysit them?

sheesh.