Tips for young consumers

Now that children are on their school holidays, shopping with them tends to generate more visits to toy shops. I encourage parents to help and develop their children as consumers, particularly younger ones.

A very important activity for them is playing with toys, which are constantly becoming more complicated and sophisticated. The same applies to adverts for toys and, too often, children have difficulty coming to terms with the way a toy performs in its imaginary television setting as opposed to the way it may perform when the box is opened at home.

To prevent disappointment, parents ought to help their children understand what they see in TV advertisements. Talk to them about advertising and spell it out to them as to what advertising is about.

Explain to your child that the purpose of advertising is to sell products. Special sound effects, production techniques, camerawork and editing are all used to enhance the way a given toy appears to operate.

Remind them that some toys are more difficult to use than they appear to be when seen on television. In some advertisements, toys are made to look easy to play with or operate when, in reality, they may require hours of practice before they can use them as shown. Due to differing levels of skills and talents, not all toys are appropriate for all children.

Another frequent problem is that toys may not be sold with all the pieces shown in the advert. Some toys may be shown with parts from more than one package while others may be shown in elaborate play settings which are not easily duplicated at home. Teach and train your children to watch and listen for such key phrases as "pieces sold separately" or "batteries not included". Believe me, they are sharper and craftier than you may think.

As you know, too many television and print adverts mislead you into assuming that they are bought "ready to play with" when, in fact, assembly is required. As if that is not enough, in many cases, assembly may be difficult and time consuming. Make sure you check whether assembly is required.

Finally remember to ensure that the toy is age appropriate. Check the recommended age level on the toy packaging. This is the manufacturer's guide to the age appropriateness of the toy and skill level required for its use.