VerveCast

Looking back in advertising history, nixing Joe Camel from cigarette advertisements seems obvious. Cigarette cause cancer, and a cartoon grabs the attention of children.

But hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it?

According to the New York Times, the federal government is looking to make some similar changes to food advertising and marketing. With obesity being the epidemic it is, it only seems right to start putting bans on what types of ads can be aimed at kids for particular foods. As the article describes, “Regulators are asking food makers and restaurant companies to make a choice: make your products healthier or stop advertising them to youngsters.” Makes perfect sense to me.

Of course, it’s never that easy. You have the debate about exactly how healthy something needs to be to use a cartoon character, and so on… but you also have to wonder – how much should the government really control advertising?

I’m a nutrition nut, so I’m biased. I think that a lot of things need to change about the way we eat, and I would not be at all against stripping Toucan Sam off that box of Froot Loops. But is that fair?

Chances are, you’ve already been on the Internet this morning to check the latest SXSW happenings, to read reviews on the iPad 2 or to determine if your suspicion that your cat is trying to kill you is true.

Would it surprise you, though, to learn that nearly 80% of children under age 5 are also using the Internet?

Is anyone else as shocked by that statistic as I am? This report also noted that young children are using more and more media, and are getting pretty darn good at multitasking.

In fact, children between ages 8 and 10 spend about 5.5 hours each day using media, but that figure rises to a whopping 8 hours if you count when these kids are multi-tasking.

But think about it – they’re learning from the best. Us adults are constantly futzing with our Blackberries or iPads or watching a show on Netflix. Why would kids be any different if this is how they’re learning to behave?

Just the other day, a friend of mine posted on Facebook about her daughter Annie: “I handed my daughter her play phone and she goes ‘Oh, Annie’s iPod!’ Hahaha! She’s so tech savvy.”  Yup, tech savvy and still in diapers.

The Rewonlinski’s hope thousands of one dollar donations can buy them a new four-legged friend. The Milwaukee family is trying to adopt a dog for their two beautiful little boys Ethan and Alex. This isn’t any dog, instead the animal is a trained therapy dog from the organization “4 Paws for Ability.” The dog is expensive, $13,000, but worth every penny to the Rewonlinski’s. This animal is specifically trained to work with their two autistic sons.

The 4 Paws for Ability organization lists many heart-warming success stories on its website with information about the dramatic difference these dogs can make in the lives of their owners. These dogs can have a calming effect on autistic children and can track them down if they wander away. These are the two things that the Rewonlinski’s say they desperately need to care for their boys.

The group helping the family is also pretty incredible. It’s called “Love Drop” and it helps raise money for animals or any other items. Each month there’s a new focus and videos to learn more about who’s requesting the assistance. Love Drop’s motto, “spend a dollar, change a life” which proves everyone has the power to help someone else in need.

In the end, the Rewonlinkski’s raised enough money to buy their therapy dog! If you’d like to learn more, or even help, please visit www.4pawsforability.org and www.lovedrop.us