Children as consumers

Schools and teachers should not be involved in advertising. Marketing material can easily gain credibility seen through a student's eyes if it is distributed by a teacher or other authority figure.

Parents have the right to decide what kind of marketing their children are exposed to at schools and day care centres. Therefore, schools and day care centres must obtain a parent's consent if they wish to

• distribute marketing material such as advertisements, product samples or free publications funded largely by advertising money, or organize marketing events
• offer products for purchase by placing orders for class rings or T-shirts, for example

If a company is financially supporting a project of a school or other educational institution, no advertising slogans or logos, other than a logo that identifies the sponsor, may appear in the associated materials.

 Take action

If your child brings items home from school that you did not consent to, such as sample issues or order forms, or if you notice corporate slogans or advertising images in your child's books, for example, you can express your opinion to

• the principal/school
• the advertiser
• the textbook publisher

You can always

submit a report to the Consumer Agency, which monitors marketing directed at children
Form

There are ways in which all of these entities can affect the type of marketing that children encounter.

Guidelines for consumer protection:
 
 Cooperation between schools and business including marketing and sponsorship
 Children and foodstuffs marketing
 Photography at schools and kindergartens