Parents should buy products for children because they need it, not because they want it
Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Education academic staff, Prof. Dr. Çağla Gür stated that buying products for children, not because they need it, but buying them because they want it, leads to negative results.
Reminding that advertisements use some strategies in order to encourage consumption of their products, Gür went on to say, “Individuals are made to constantly feel the need to consume through advertisements, by identifying their sense of self value, or to feel more valuable, with consumption. Some advertisements aim to increase sales by associating value and happiness with the product.
Drawing attention to the necessity for the individual to develop an awareness as to whether there is a "need" at the purchasing stage of the product, Prof. Dr. Gür went on to share, "However, when an individual identifies their own value with consumption, they will perceive buying or owning as a need".
Reminding that the same situation is seen in advertisements that introduce products to children, Gür continued, “Children want to have these products. Especially parents in particular who think that they don’t spend sufficient time with the children, look at these products as a form of compensation”.
Adding that the children of individuals who constantly buy things for them, naturally already have everything in abundance, Prof. Dr. Gür noted that this situation teaches children not to distinguish between wants and needs, to seek love in what they possess, to measure their self-worth with their possessions, and to express themselves via their possessions.
Gür explained that these children will become adults who will strive to obtain, as opposed to being an individual striving for self-realization, and she noted that they will have problems with relation to self-worth awareness and thus can easily become depressed because of this.
Pointing to the importance of explaining to children that the way in which you express love is not about the giving or receiving of material things, Gür went on to state, “Teaching that love is about the spending of time, doing something together, listening to each other and communicating, is necessary”.
Gür reminded that in this regard, parents should be an example to children, and elaborated, "For example, by including our child within the process, it is important to explain to the child what we want to buy or why when we go to the market, comparing prices or exchanging views in relation to the food selection".
Stating that raising awareness in relation to possessing actually leads to unhappiness is necessary, Gür concluded, “When happiness is connected to a condition and the feeling of happiness is aimed at all the time, in actual fact this situation brings with it the total opposite, unhappiness. By thinking positively, one should focus on activities that will make life meaningful”.